


Feeding the Flames

by painfulprose



Series: Family Forever [3]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Adult Themes, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Camp camp au, Canon Semi Compliant, Corpse Play (not sexual I promise- Daniel is just an asshole), Corpses, Danvid, Depression, Enemies to Friends, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Gore, Graphic Description of Corpses, Headcanon Personalities, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, In Character (hopefully), Internalized Homophobia, Kidnapping, M/M, Max is 16 and the events of the show happened around six years ago, Max was adopted by David and took on his last name, Maxneil, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Outdated Tumblr Memes, POV Multiple, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape Aftermath, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Slow Burn David/Daniel, Slow Burn Max/Neil, Swearing (because Camp Camp), Tags May Change, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking, characters will be updated as the story goes on, dadvid, headcanons, yes David's last name is Wood, yes i only did that for the morning wood joke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:16:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 65,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painfulprose/pseuds/painfulprose
Summary: After attending a shady "School's Out" party thrown by members of Max's old gang, he ends up going missing. Turning up a few weeks later, more than a little bruised and disoriented, his family and friends try to piece together what exactly happened that night, and figure out who would commit such a vile act and why.





	1. Act 1: The Party

The air was tinged with electricity from the twirls and sways of the partygoers. Wild arrays of color flashed before his vision- disorienting for only a brief moment before clarity overcame him again. 

Girls in extravagant dresses and those in skanky lace-ups and short shorts either pranced about or stood beside street lamps and toyed with their phones. Several people walked past him holding red plastic cups and laughing about something that was impossible to make out in the surrounding noise. 

Music felt like it was coming from every direction; loud and obnoxious and surely more than enough to get their little get-together shut down. 

That thought forced a wicked grin onto his face as he pushed himself away from the table he'd been leaning on. He had no idea if the dude throwing this party had asked permission to set it up, and quite frankly? He didn't really give a damn.  
Chances are pretty high for a 'no' and that was good enough. Judging by the itch in his hands that trailed along his body in waves, he needed a good run. A good high speed chase to take care of the tension keeping his shoulders squared and chest heavy. 

Sure, he'd get chewed out for being chased by cops again. But he was gonna get chewed out _anyway_ for even **being** here right now. What's one more slap on the wrist? 

Ignoring the twinge of guilt tugging at him, he made his way over a 'punch' bowl across the way. Normally, he supposed, he would have had to dodge countless people just to reach his destination unscathed. However, the glances he was getting from the people who were sober enough to recognize him told a different story. 

Sober...

 _God_ , he's way too sober for this shit. 

Elbowing a dude in the side who had made a snide comment to him (in good fun), he didn't hesitate to grab his own cheap red cup and pour himself a drink. He noted dully that the equally cheap bowl was nearly empty. 

Bringing the cup to his lips rewarded him with some solace from the outside noise. Things went fuzzy for a moment- his head practically being submerged in metaphorical water with the way his body reacted to the blatant disobedience. A voice in the back of his head told him to dump his drink in the grass and to go home. 

Whatever had been mixed in with the punch, it was strong. Stronger than he'd been expecting. All signs pointed to him listening to that voice, or at least limiting his intake. Self-preservation was never something that ran too strongly through him, though. 

He downed the whole thing. He poured himself another cup with what little remained. 

Might as well, right? You don't go to teenage parties (or parties at all, really) unless you're looking to get wrecked. Now that school's over for the summer, it seems like nearly everyone in his neighborhood had the same idea.

Going for his, technically third, drink, he opened his eyes and the party began to flood back to him. Blaring lights and malformed shapes that had to be people began to clear out, and soon he was able to see and hear again. See _and_ hear a girl not far from the punch table eyeing him and laughing over the music. 

It was dark out, even with people's phones and glow sticks illuminating most areas. He had a bit of trouble making out her features, but he could tell that she had short blonde hair put up into a bun. And she wasn't alone. 

"Hey," he attempted to call out, roughly jerking his cup towards the guy with her. Tall and beefy, of course. Who else would Lindsey Scott be seen in public with? 

Luckily, he didn't need to repeat himself. The big guy caught on quickly enough for his tastes and was giving him a toxic glare. Looks like public opinion differs. Who knew? 

"Yeah, you. Can you tell your slut to shut the fuck up and mind her own business?"

"What did you just say to me, asshole?" 

"You fucking heard me, Chad. Go take your sex toy somewhere else." 

That finally got an actual response from Lindsey. She joined her eye candy of the day in sizing him up. Treating him like the scum of the earth without actually doing anything about it. 

He walked around the table, advancing towards the two in a silent threat of its own. A few people moved away from the three of them out of the corners of his vision. 

"You've got fucking **nerve** showing your face around here, Wood," the jock reminded him. He just shrugged it off. He was more concerned about trying to remember the guy's name than to care about anything he had to say. 

"Okay. And? Anyone with eyes could make that observation, fuck-face. Look, just.. Mind your own goddamn business and I'll leave you alone, m'kay?" 

"We _were_ 'minding our own business'," Lindsey mocked with evident disgust. "But, as always, Max needs to have the attention on himself and start shit just to feel important." 

He hadn't realized how tense he was until she'd said that. Something in him snapped rather unreasonably then. He knew it was uncalled for and that he shouldn't have done it, but he acted without thinking. 

The next thing he knew, Lindsey's blue skirt was soaked with red 'punch', and he was on the ground. 

Max narrowly dodged a fist in the face, twisting his head away just in time. A strong hand held him in his place- practically crushing his chest with the weight. He attempted to bring his legs up and kick 'Chad' off of his person, but the few moments it took him to do that were moments he'd neglected to focus on any other incoming blows. 

Pain barely registered in his mind. His face stung and he could taste blood. His hands were balled up petulantly in the fucker's shirt for a reason that he didn't stop to figure out.  
Any rational thought process was long gone by this point. He reached out and latched his fingers around his attacker's neck in retaliation to another punch being sent his way. 

Whatever Chad had planned to do to him didn't get the chance to happen. Max saw his opportunity and took it; pulling his legs back up and kicking at his crotch in one quick motion. The hand against his chest turned into a fist and slammed back down in response. 

Though he tried to stifle it, Max let out a pained cry and pulled away from Chad's neck. His own fist met with the guy's face, causing him to stumble and forget about Max for the time being. 

It was more than enough time for him to push himself up and get back onto his feet. Looking around for an easy escape route, he paused momentarily upon realizing the crowd that had gathered around them. A circle of people- half cheering on the scuffle and half watching with bated breath.

Max cursed to himself and reached for his back pocket. 

"Steven!" someone shouted from the crowd, stopping the action in its tracks. Through the insanity going on both outside of and inside of him, he had managed to recognize the voice. 

It brought some comfort. Though not a lot. 

A considerable amount of people hushed the second and third time the voice repeated the name. Still on edge, Max snapped his head towards a change in the movement of the crowd to his left. Some people had begun to part- making way for a familiar face. 

"Steven! Come on, man, this is a party, not a fight club. What'd you do, now?" 

'Chad', who apparently was the 'Steven' in question, was still knelt on the ground. Lindsey had offered a hand to help him up, but he rejected it and spat something onto the grass. It looked like blood in the bad lighting. 

"Your _boyfriend_ started it! He crashed the fuckin' party and started acting like a complete ass-" 

"Liar!" Max countered. Music still had the audacity to continue playing, so having to raise his voice just to be heard was only another thing to add to the list of annoyances tonight. 

"Your slut of the week couldn't mind her own fucking business, so I-" 

"She's NOT my 'slut of the week', you fucking cunt-" 

"Oh, yeah, sure. You tell that to your mom, too, Chad?" 

A loud elongated 'Oh!' from the crowd had Steven bristling again. He looked like he was about to get up and beat Max's ass again, but Thompson walked between them and put his hand up. 

"Okay, Steven. That's enough, man. Go- Jesus, go get some ice or something and go home. Lindsey, help him up." 

" _'Go home'?!_ " Steven repeated, incredulous. He didn't even acknowledge Lindsey when she tried to help him up a second time. "I thought you didn't **want** the little brat here! And now you're giving him special treatment?!" 

"I'm not giving him 'special treatment', Steve. I'm just trying to descalate things-" 

"He kicked me in the NUTS, Thompson!" 

"Yeah, I saw that. I'll take care of it- just get outta here, dude." 

"Only after he knocked me down and punched me in the face," Max muttered behind Thompson, just loud enough to be heard. Thompson gave a small nod in reply. 

With most, if not all, of the fun gone and the tense atmosphere dying down, the crowd began to break apart. Max was acutely aware of countless eyes now on him for another reason entirely, but at least now he didn't feel so boxed in. He felt his shoulders slump and the ache in his chest deepening. 

As much as he hated _Thompson_ being his saving grace in this kind of situation, he had to be thankful to him. Especially after the shit he caused.  
Lindsey finally managed to get Steven to allow her help, and they appeared to be getting ready to leave. It was more than enough confirmation for Thom to let out a sigh and turn to face Max for the first time in possibly months. 

His injuries were catching up to him. Breath still heated and heart thudding loud enough to hurt his ears, Max felt himself wobble a bit under his former friend's gaze. 

He couldn't take the shame. He looked down to his own shoes. 

"Max," Thom began. 

"I know, I know. I'm leaving- chill your ass." 

"What? Not like that, you're not. C'mon, the guys are waiting for us. I'll get you an icepack or something." 

"No," Max growled despite himself. "No. You're not fucking serious." 

"'Course I am. You're one of us." 

"Stop fucking with me. I'm **really** not in the mood for your bullshit, Thompson." 

"Max," Thom all but groaned as Max turned and began to walk away in order to end the conversation. "That was a long time ago, I wasn't- wait." 

Max felt a hand latch onto his wrist, eliciting a negative response in the back of his mind. He stopped, regardless of it. 

"I shouldn't have been such a jerk to you. I-I know why you disbanded the gang- I know why you left. I don't give a shit about any of that, anymore. Why don't we just go catch up with the others and, fuck, I dunno, talk shit out?" 

"You can't play fucking dumb with me," he hissed back, yanking his wrist away despite the flash of pain it brought him. "I don't know who set this whole fucking thing up, but I **know** you didn't want me here. You hate my guts. It's the only reason why I came in the first place." 

"I knew that if I made it clear that I didn't wanna see you that you'd show up," Thom admitted, more than a little smug with himself.

"Bullshit." 

"It's true. _You've_ been the one avoiding _me_ , mister." 

"Yeah, well, maybe that was for a reason." 

"Ouch. I figured you'd be more pissed about this- not keep giving me the cold shoulder." 

"You **want** me to be pissed, don't you? Go suck a dick, I'm going home." 

Max made it a point to lazily flip Thompson off before trudging through the grass towards the nearby street. The party had been arranged in a public park, and he's honestly more surprised about the fact that no one's made a noise complaint than the fact that he'd been tricked. 

Manipulated, more like it. He should have seen this turn out from a mile away, but what did _his_ stupid rebellious teenage ass do? Go and worry David and get himself grounded for no reason other than spite. What a goddamn laugh. 

"It's late. At least let me walk you home, man." 

"I think I can remember where I live, thanks." 

"Come on, Max, seriously. Just- Just gimme a chance, here?? Dick move on my part, I know, but I just wanna make things right again between us. We both got a little pissy and acted like kids over pretty much nothing." 

Max didn't bother shaking the hand off of his shoulder when he felt it. He slowed down in his strides when he was about three or four more steps from the road before stopping.

Now outside of the heated air surrounding the party, it was much easier to hear himself think. So much easier to let himself relax and think things through before he acted on them.  
A cold breeze had picked up; rustling the leaves on some trees and prompting Max to pull his hoodie up. Finally taking the time to fully register the metallic taste in his mouth, he spat the blood that had managed to accumulate in his mouth out onto the ground. 

"Max?" 

He wants to go home. Even with the knowledge of David's impending disappointment and his inevitable punishment, he wanted nothing more to collapse onto his bed and sleep for ten hours straight. Nikki and Neil could say 'I told you so' until their hearts were content for all he cared. 

"You said.. the others were expecting _us?_ " 

He should go home. See David and explain himself. Tell him that he's okay- just roughed up and not dead or in jail. 

"Yeah. I'm not the only one who misses you, dude." 

He needs to go home. This was all stupid and a huge waste of time. He doesn't even _like_ parties all that fucking much. They're just an excuse to get drunk and get laid; and if he was being entirely honest with himself, he didn't want to do either of those things. 

Thompson is just tricking him again, anyway. This shit just sounds too good to be true. It's another cruel joke on him just to hit him when he's down. 

"I.. _guess_ saying hi couldn't hurt before I go..." 

Say hi. That's all he'll do. Then he'll head home and treat this night like a bad trip and never talk about it again.

"Where are they?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you all think about this story! I've had this idea for over a year now, and I just wanted to finally make it a reality. I hope it's well received and that it manages to give someone a good ol' laugh. And make them cry a bucket of tears. 
> 
> My Tumblr is here: https://painful-prose.tumblr.com/
> 
> My Discord is here: #9068


	2. Act 1: He's Gone

Max never came home that night. 

David had waited at first. He'd waited patiently for a text, a call, for Max to walk through the front door and apologize for running off to a party despite being told not to. He waited for his adopted son to at least come home when the clock hit midnight. 

None of that had happened, to his rising dread.

He knew- David **knew** he should have been more firm; been more strict. Since when does Max listen to him after three different warnings?! He should have known to make it at _least_ six!  
He should have known not to tell Max to go to his room and quit thinking about sneaking out that night. He should have known better, but he didn't, and now Max is gone. 

Max is gone. Wherever he's gone, he's there, and no one can find him. 

"Are you sure?? Are you **absolutely** sure?!" 

" _Yes_ , David. For the last time, no one's seen him. He's not answering his phone for _anyone_ , either. It's not just you." 

"Ohhhh, Gwen, I'm such a bad parent..! I should have sat down with Max and asked him _why_ that party was so important to him! I should have been more understanding and observant- but I WASN'T! And now he's run away, o-or been kidnapped, o-or WORSE! 

What if he fell asleep on a park bench?! That's **SO** unsafe and unsanitary!" 

"David, oh my god, could you shut up for one second." 

" **It's been one whole day, Gwen, no I will NOT.** " 

The silence on Gwen's end of the phone had David wincing; guilt twisting in his chest like a knife. 

"Gwen?? Gwen, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I didn't mean that- I'm just- stressed-" 

"No, you're fine, David. I was just double checking something with Neil- you're good." 

"Oh? What'd he say??" 

"Nothing important. Just clarifying that the last time he saw Max last night was around three; like four hours before the party started." 

David felt himself deflate- unknowingly having gotten some hope from the misunderstanding. He had folded into himself in hopes of steadying his shaking and his nerves. He had an arm wrapped around his waist for extra measure. Extra reassurance. 

He's been pacing himself ragged for who knows how long. Constantly sneakng glances at a nearby wall clock to keep track of the time. Always _always_ listening for any activity out in the hall- for any approaching footsteps. 

For any signs of Max. 

Max had presumably left for the party shortly after David effectively 'grounded' him and locked him in his room. A little harsh, he knows, and he'd take it all back if he could. Neil and Nikki's repeated warnings had just gotten to his head, that's all. He never meant to be overbearing..! 

That was roughly six-thirty. From the apartment to the park, that's about a twenty to thirty minute walk. Either way he looks at it, Max had to have gotten there at or after seven. To his knowledge, the party had calmed down and ended sometime past eleven. 

It's two in the afternoon now, and still no signs whatsoever of his kid. Not even a text or crude picture that David normally disliked, yet **oh-so** craved at the moment. 

Anything. Anything to know that Max is alright. 

"Hey, David- listen, I'm gonna call you back, alright? Neil and I have been looking around for a good hour or two now. We'll let you know if we figure anything out." 

"O-Oh.." Of course. Of course- he'd contacted Gwen late last night when he'd gone to scout out the park himself. When he'd found the awful aftermath of the rambunctious teens and nothing that screamed 'Max', he kept calling her until she picked up and yelled at him. 

"O-Of course. Thank you-" he had to cut himself off to let out a heavy sigh. He didn't want Gwen to hang up. "Thank you so much for all of your help. Tell Neil I said thanks, too." 

"You got it, buddy. Hold on, alright? I'm sure the little shit's fine- just what you said: Sleeping on a bench somewhere. Probably got drunk and got lost." 

"Haha- _not helping_." 

"Shit- right. Uh. Bye." 

The click signifying the end of their call made David's heart drop. It was silly, he knew, but Gwen hanging up made him worried that **she'd** go missing, too. Worried that that had been the last time he'd ever hear Gwen's voice and know that she's safe. 

He pathetically stared down at her contact in his phone for a few moments before clutching the device to his chest. If he couldn't hug her in person, he'd hug her this way. And never ever let go. If he lets go, she'll leave, and he'll never be able to remind her how special she is. He'll never be able to see her smile or laugh again. He'll never be able to- 

"David..?" 

David chose not to look up. He knew how very rude that was, but he was crying again, and he just wanted to hold onto Gwen a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer... 

"Oh, David.. Here." 

As childish as it was, David almost recoiled away from the hand that gave a weak attempt at pushing his own hands away from his chest; away from his phone. He didn't want to be alone or lose anyone else, and yet all he wanted to do was be alone so he wouldn't have to _worry_ about anyone else. 

... _Was that bad..?_ Was that a bad thing to want??? Is he a bad person?! Oh gosh, he's a bad person, isn't he. He's being so unappreciative right now. He knows better than to act like this. He knows so much better than this. So then, why-? 

"Please. Take it. It'll help." 

David hadn't noticed that someone had been trying to push a warm cup of.. _something_ into his open hand for a while now. The one still holding his phone gripped tighter to it- unwilling to let go of it quite yet. 

Sniffling, he didn't take the cup. Instead, he reached up and wiped the tears away from his eyes so he could see properly. He's a mess and he's not too proud of it. 

"Th-Thank you, Danny, but I-I don't think I can stomach anything right now.." 

Daniel's tense, very tense, smile widened unnaturally at the rejection. David could tell even through the tears that his friend's shoulders were too high up to be normal. Body too stiff and professional to be comfortable. 

Seemingly unsure of what to do with himself, Daniel's eyes quickly flitted from David, to the cup, to the side, and then back to David. He also seemed to catch himself being too tense and tried to adjust his smile. Make it more relaxed and genuine. 

David hated the fact that he couldn't bring himself to buy it right now. 

"Please. I insist. Tea is good for the soul," he tried again, imploringly this time. David remained reluctant. 

"It'll- Um. It'll. Help you feel better." 

Hearing the stutter melted his already broken heart. David forced back the sobs as he graciously took the cup and stared down at the brown liquid inside of it. He had to pocket his phone in order to do so, which stung a great deal. 

Daniel took a step back once his task was completed- hands folding behind his back and eyes lighting up a bit. David could tell that Daniel was waiting for him to take a sip from it, even though the cup itself felt pretty hot. Judging by the steam wafting up, it was freshly brewed, and likely piping hot. 

Hesitating quite a few times, David grimaced and raised the cup to his mouth. He knew he should tell Daniel that he had to wait for it to cool off, but the glances he snuck to the man were more than he could bare. 

Temperature and potential burns or not, David took a deep breath and took one tiny miniscule sip. He brought the cup back down onto its plate as fast as he could without spilling anything. 

"I-It's, uh- _wow_ , Daniel. It's- It's great! Thanks. I-I feel better already..." 

It was way too hot to even taste anything. He hasn't the foggiest idea of what he just drank. 

Daniel's genuine relief overshadowed that, though. The way his shoulders relaxed and his posture slouched was more than enough of a payoff. 

"You don't have to lie. You're terrible at it." 

David broke out into hysterical sobs without any warning. Daniel became tense once more- tenfold as his eyebrows shot up and he raised his hands almost defensively. Reaching out to David with shaky hands, he tried and failed to take the tea back before David got the chance to spill it by accident. 

Shoulders shaking and shuddering, David hadn't even realized that he'd dropped his tea and the plate on the ground. The tea wasn't anywhere **near** as important as pulling Daniel into a hug. A hug so tight that Daniel audibly gasped and made a choked up noise that made David lessen his grip. 

Not by much. Just a little so he was hurting the other a bit less. 

" _Oh, Daniel!_ " he managed to get out between his uncontrollable cascade of tears and hiccups. " _We need to go back out! W-We need to- W-We need to go- We need to go looking for him again..!_ " 

When he didn't get anything more than an awkward pat on the back, he went on. 

" _Wh-What if he's at some stranger's house..?! Wh-What if he got lost a-and he can't- he can't find his way hooome?!_ **OR WHAT IF HE'S- HE'S-** " 

"He's not-" Daniel's voice either cracked or faded out. He wasn't too sure. "He's not dead, David." 

" **BUT HE COULD BE.!!** " 

"That's... true..." 

"HE COULD BE DE- G- _GONE_ A-AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT! H-HE COULD BE- _hicc_ \- H-HE COULD BE GONE FOREVER..! I-I'M THE WORST DAD- IN THE HISTORY OF **EVER!** " 

"Oh, come on... _That's_ not true." 

"IT IS, DANIEL! IT IS!! HE MUST HA- **HATE** ME FOR LOCKING HIM IN HIS ROO-M! HE PROBABLY RAN AWAY A-AND FOUND A _BETTER_ DAD! _A BETTER FAMILY!_ " 

"Oh.. No.. Don't... Don't- No, y'know what? I'm not doing this." 

Grunting with the effort, Daniel pushed back against David's vice grip. It was a struggle, (especially since David began to panic even more and try to cling onto Daniel so he wouldn't leave, too) but he eventually managed to break free and push David away from his person. 

Startled and hurt, David stumbled back and landed safely on his couch. It was a bit of a rough landing, but worlds better than falling onto the floor. 

"D-Daniel..?" 

"Stay. There." Daniel's voice had lost all of the warmth and comfort that it had before. It was cold, now. Authoritative and mean. It sent a shudder down David's back, but he listened regardless. He didn't think he was in any danger, anyway, so he really had no reason to disobey. 

Daniel practically stomped off towards his room- the one right across from Max's. David flinched when he caught sight of the hard look in his eyes. Sinking back into the couch, he tried to make himself stop sniffling and crying so he could at least be as presentable as Daniel always kept himself. 

He'd neglected to really eat or sleep once he realized Max wasn't in his room anymore. He hadn't even thought to comb his hair or change clothes, either. He's been out and about nonstop; contacting anyone he could who might hold at least a fraction of the answers he was looking for. 

It had all been pretty much for nothing. Those who reported seeing Max were just kids from the party, and even then the most they could detail was a brief fight. That's it. They all said the same thing: Max had walked off with some kid, Jeffrey Thompson, and then they didn't see him again. 

Jeffrey... That's the same name as the kid that always liked to seem to give Max trouble. He could recall the countless times Max came home from school and had a complaint or another about the boy. 

Naturally, he contacted Jeffrey's parents and Jeffrey himself. No luck. Jeffrey swore up and down that he had walked Max at least halfway back to his apartment before heading back home. That was sometime past twelve. His story, unfortunately, checked out.

"Here." 

David was jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of Daniel's return. Frantically looking up, he instantly became perplexed by the fact that Daniel seemed to be holding as many pillows as his arms could carry. Not just pillows, even- a large blanket was holding them all. And sort of failing to do so. 

"Take them." 

"Wh- _Huh??_ " 

" **TAKE THEM.** " 

"!! O-Okay, okay, okay, please don't yell-" David stammered, reaching over and grabbing onto the pillow-filled blanket. Two of the five pillows in question fell onto the ground at his feet. 

He felt very ridiculous just holding onto everything in such a manner. The pillows practically obsured his view and made it near impossible to see Daniel anymore. 

". . . D-Dan-" 

"Well?? Make a pillowfort!" 

"E- _Excuse me..?_ " Surely he heard that wrong. Someone as charming and professional and uptight as Daniel _surely_ hadn't just told him to- 

"Make. A pillowfort. Or so help me." 

"Y-... You can't be serious-" 

" **Oh** , I'm VERY serious, David. Comfortable enclosures reduce stress. Blankets and pillows enduce calmness and a sense of security. **Chamomile tea** promotes sleep. _Which you've gotten none of for the past twenty four hours._ " 

David opened his mouth to respond to all of that, then slowly closed it once again. He had to admit that he'd stopped crying as much as he had been before, but that's only because he was too confused to know how to even feel at the moment. He was overwhelmed, really. 

And then it hit him. 

Daniel was just trying to help. _Of course_ he was just trying to help. The robotic calculated way he had stated the information and his reasoning behind the demands and the pillows and blanket had been his way of trying to comfort him. All of David's crying and clinging must have stressed the poor guy out, too. 

David felt like the biggest moron on the face of the planet. Here he was: Foolishly thinking Daniel was getting fed up with him and wanted nothing more to do with him. Idiotically believing that he had screwed up and that there was no way to repair their friendship. 

He'd been so scared. He's still scared. He's terrified.

He's laughing. He's burying his face into one of the pillows and he's laughing so hard that he's crying again. 

" _David!_ " Daniel's voice spiked in a rare outburst- worry making it evidently crack. David didn't try to stop him as he pulled the pillow away in order to see his face. 

"David?? Why're you-?" 

"You're just-" David replaced the pillow with his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look up at Daniel. Not while he's absolutely having some kind of mental breakdown. He can't even tell if he's laughing or crying right now. 

"Y-You're just so _nice._ You're s-so nice to me." 

"U-Um. I.. I'm nice.. _I'm nice to everyone..??_ What do you m-"

He can't bring himself to look at Daniel. But he **can** bring himself to pull the man into another hug. Considerably less tight than before. Less restricting, more considerate and caring. David settles his forehead onto Daniel's shoulder and, gently, attempts to tug him down to his level. 

It takes Daniel a few moments, but he relents before long. Crouching down, he seems uneasy and confused still, judging by how he immediately goes to give David some more pats on the back. The action just makes David snort in amusement. 

"You know what I mean..." 

"I.. I guess I do.?" 

They stayed like that for a while. Daniel settled himself down onto his knees at some point during the hug, but David didn't mind it. It barely changed a thing. As long as he had someone, _anyone_ in his arms right now, he was good. He'd be fine. 

He had to be fine. If not for his own sake, then for everyone else's. He wasn't the only one affected by Max's absence, after all. Gwen, Nikki, and Neil wouldn't still be out searching for him if that wasn't the case. Daniel wouldn't be so rigid and and detached if he wasn't worrying himself just as much over Max's safety. 

He wasn't alone. He _wasn't._ And no one else was about to vanish on him. He'd make **certain** of it.

Max is fine. Everything will be fine. 

"S-.. So... You're.. _not_ going to make the pillowfort..?" 

"Danny," David groaned. 

"Right. Got it. Pillowforts are overrated anyway- who even likes them?" 

"Danny, no-" 

"Are you okay? Or, uh- _will_ you be okay? I need to go clean up the tea and pour you a another cup. I don't want you crying again while I do that."

"Danny," David began, pulling himself away from his friend's person. "I appreciate the offer, but really, I don't think I can-" 

"If you're not going to make the pillowfort, at _least_ have a cup of tea? You're not adequately nourishing your body and it's bothering me." 

"When was the last time _you_ ate something? Or took a nap?" 

"Irrelevant. This is about you, not me." 

David stood up with a huff at that. He'd kind of forgotten about the pillows and blanket on his person, though, so they all fell to the floor along with the other two discarded pillows without so much as a second glance from him. They didn't matter at the moment. 

"I'll make us some lunch, then. It'll do us both some good." 

"A-Are you sure?? It's really no issue at all, David; let me handle everything. You should be resting-" 

"No. I'm making us something to eat. What do you want?" 

David was already trying to push his way past Daniel so he could make his way towards the kitchen. Cooking would help to take his mind off of things. He didn't need to turn around to know that Daniel was right at his heels. 

"I don't want anything, I'm fine. What I **need** is for you to have some tea and go to bed. I wouldn't advise you to be anywhere near a stove while under pressure and sleep deprived." 

"Oh, yeah?" David muttered sarcastically, not at all listening and pulling a frying pan from the drying rack. Daniel must have cleaned it recently. 

"You're not listening to me." 

"Oh, no, no please. I'm listening, go on." 

"I'm not repeating myself, David. Please." 

"Please what?" He leaned past Daniel in order to open the fridge and pull out some eggs. Daniel closed the fridge before he could do so. 

"I can do this all day, David. Don't start this." 

"Start _what?_ Making **lunch?** "

"It's past noon." 

" _Dinner._ " 

David could see Daniel physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes. 

"I thought you said you couldn't even stomach tea." 

He paused for a moment. "Well, I was wrong." 

"David, oh my god." 

"Don't you 'oh my god' me, mister! You're the one making a fuss over nothing!"

"Oh no. I'm. Worried for my friend's well-being. Oh. Oh no. I'm being. So unreasonable," Daniel taunted in a dry monotone. "Someone stop me." 

David felt his cheeks flush, then. Sure, he'd been kind of overheated before due to all of the crying and the panicking, but he was fairly certain that he was outright _blushing_ right now. 

Out of embarrassement, of course. Not because Daniel is undeniably adorable when he gets annoyed, but because Daniel is getting annoyed in the first place. Daniel's the one who's actually acting like an adult right now. All David's doing is being childish and petty. 

The sigh he let out must have been enough of a sign that he realized how stupid he was being, because Daniel grabbed a cloth by the stove and turned around to head back to the living room. 

"Go to bed, David. I'll bring you some tea once I've finished cleaning up in here." 

A pause. 

"And something to eat if you're hungry." 

Honestly, no. No he really wasn't. Food was the last thing on his mind right now. Yes, he could make something for Daniel while he was distracted. Putting together a sandwhich really fast wouldn't hurt anything, and he doubted he'd be caught in time to be stopped. 

He could do that. He decided not to test his luck. He's in enough hot water already, so to speak. It's been a long day. An even longer night. 

In any other scenario he would have turned up his nose at the idea of going to bed before eight or nine. Today, though? He could force himself to be fine with that. If he was dead on his feet, he could kiss being useful to any search parties goodbye. 

Begrudgingly, David pulled himself away from the stove and accepted the fact that he needed to get some sleep. He could count on Daniel to wake him up if anything new happened or if Max was found or came home.  
If that didn't happen, then he'd be well-rested and ready to continue the search with everyone else. Look at things from a fresh perspective. 

"Thank you, Daniel." 

"Don't mention it, David."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel, you should know by now that pillow forts aren't gucci.


	3. Act 1: Lost, but Not Gone

"How much longer are we supposed to be doing this, again?" 

He jabbed a flier onto a passing lamp pole.

"Don't know. Either until David stops flipping his shit, or until we get sick of going to random people's houses and asking them about a 'missing' kid." 

Neil rolled his eyes at Gwen's truthful retort. Another flier was stabbed onto a fence as he walked past it. 

"Well, _that's_ never going to happen, so let's just-" 

"Wait, _what's_ never going to happen?? Us getting sick of putting up posters for the dipshit, or-" 

"Gwen, oh my _god_ , do **not** pull a Nikki on me- Jesus _Christ._ What do you THINK I was referring to?!" 

Gwen turned on her heels to glare at him- barely giving him any time to finish speaking in the process. Neil had pretty much no choice but to stop with her; holding the heavy stack of posters to his chest. Pissing off people usually wasn't difficult for him, but that didn't mean he always did it intentionally. 

Taking Max's example and getting his ass kicked was **not** something he intended on doing today. 

"Shut the fuck up, Neil- I'm tired! David didn't have _you_ up at one in the morning with his bullshit! Cut me some fucking slack!" 

"Okay, okay- _sheesh!_ Calm down!" He paused for a moment before hesitantly raising a finger. "B-But I **have** been knocking on doors and putting up posters around town for about three hours, now. I-I think it's reasonable to say that we're _both_ tired." 

The fire in Gwen's eyes dulled some at that logic, thankfully. Hesitating, She soon leaned away from Neil's person and dragged a hand down her face, groaning for an elongated period of time. 

She looked terrible, if he was being blunt. Her hair had been pulled up into a messy bun when they'd met up at the street corner at eleven this morning, but _now_ it wasn't even really a bun anymore. More like a wild jumble of tangles that desperately need a brush.  
And that wasn't even mentioning the bags under eyes and the evident stress lines on her forehead. It made him feel like a piece of shit for snapping at her. 

It wasn't his fault, though. None of this was anyone's fault but Max's. If he hadn't have been such a _child_ and gone to the party that SCREAMED 'danger' in the first place, then none of this would even be happening. The frustration burning under his skin made it hard to not tear the missing posters in half just out of impulse.

Summer may have only just begun, but Max getting himself into trouble and needing help happens ANY time of the year, right? Max never actually learns his fucking lesson and decides to just do whatever he wants, _right??_  
Of course he does. He always does shit like this. Sure, yeah, he's never straight up _vanished_ off the face of the earth before, but it hasn't even been a day or two yet for Christ's sake! 

There is NO evidence whatsoever that Max is in any _real_ danger or needs any actual help. All they're doing is bothering innocent people and pretty much littering just to appease David and make him stop crying. Go fucking figure. 

Neil let out a sigh of his own and forced his posture to relax. 

"Look, let's just.. stop. Not that I don't care about Max or anything, but this is fucking ridiculous. We need a break, at least. Let me call Nikki and see where she is, and then we can all go get a coffee or something." 

"Normally," Gwen muttered through the hand still on her face, "I'd be all for that... But we can't... If David calls, he'll-"

"If David calls, we'll just LIE to him!" Neil snapped. "We'll FUCKING lie to him, Gwen! I'm done with this bullshit for right now! I mean, _seriously??_ " 

Trying and failing to take a deep breath, he forcibly grabbed one of the many fliers and held it in front of himself for further emphasis. He's been trying to go on less tangents than he typically does when he's pissed and has receipts to pull, but _goddammit_ if this isn't worthy of one of them. 

" **Missing posters?!** WHEN the FUCK did David even have the time to MAKE these pieces of crap?! And- AND! I'm _pretty fucking sure_ that this isn't even LEGAL in our zoning area!" 

Trembling with fury that he, quite frankly, had no idea he had, Neil crumpled up the poster in his hands and tossed it at the sidewalk as hard as he could. Chest rising and falling harshly, he stared down at it for a few moments before cursing to himself and picking the ruined poster back up.

"Max is just _fine!_ The guys probably just got him drunk and left him somewhere, or- or locked him in one of their houses or some shit to try to be funny. _I don't know where he is!_ But I **do** know that this is both illegal AND pointless!" 

He wanted to say more. He wanted to say _so_ much more. He wanted to say that Max was a moron for deliberately going behind their backs and attending the party alone. He wanted to say that he wouldn't even feel sorry for him if he **had** actually gone missing or got hurt somehow. 

He wanted to say that Max _deserved_ whatever was coming to him.

But that.. that would be a lie. Not the moron part, obviously, he meant everything else. Max may be a little bit reckless and kinda manipulative at times, but Neil knew that if he was actually in trouble, he'd run to his aid. He always has, and that's not about to change. Hell, the very _idea_ of one of Max's old 'friends' trying to pull anything on him had his blood boiling.

Feeling the tension ebb from him, he absently pocketed the wadded up paper and grabbed one of the other posters from the stack. Turning it over, he skimmed it without a real reason for doing so.

_MISSING: Maxwell Arya Wood. Last seen Friday night, June 10th, 2018. Silverlake Park. Have you seen this boy?_

He eyed the descriptions beside the picture of Max. 

_Age: 16. Eyes: Green. Hair: Brown. Height: 5'7". Weight: 150. If found or seen, please call._

Neil glossed over David's phone number with a sigh. What a waste of paper. 

He had almost forgotten about Gwen entirely up until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jolted in surprise, fumbling before dropping the mess of missing posters all over the sidewalk. He resisted the urge to pick them up immediately, instead glancing up to the woman who had been.. unnervingly quiet during his rant. 

Gwen had a small smile on her face, though. That had to be a first. 

"I don't disagree with you. This whole clusterfuck isn't anything to get so upset over, though. Let's clean this shit up and grab Nikki, yeah? Coffee's on me."

Neil didn't have any fight left in him at this point. All he wanted to do was forget about Max's stupid ass decisions for a few hours and enjoy his summer. Gwen's pragmatic view on the situation was much needed and greatly appreciated. He'd take seeing her like this over her spewing insults left and right any day. 

He gave a tired nod and lazily reached into his back pocket for his phone. "Yeah... Okay. That sounds good. Lemme just-" 

A car decided to race by the two of them just then, picking up wind. Said wind picked up the missing posters and blew them around and out into the road. Several of them flew over the fence and into someone's yard. 

Neil opened his mouth to say something, but he chose to close it and let their bad luck speak for itself.

"..." Gwen's eyes followed the car as it disappeared down the street. Hands in the pockets of her jeans, she slowly turned back towards Neil and blinked a few times. 

"If we run away right now and let that shit be, do you think anyone will care?" 

"No," he replied at once, pulling out his phone and and scrolling through his contacts. "No I do not." 

Gwen didn't need to be told again. She grabbed onto Neil's wrist and made a run for it- Neil stumbling behind her and scrambling not to drop his phone. As soon as he was able to get better bearings, he pressed Nikki's icon and held his phone up to his ear. 

David could wait. Max could wait. They need a break. 

______________________________________________________

"And then I grabbed the dog by the neck and put it into a chokehold!" Nikki stated triumphantly, raising her cup of hot chocolate into the air like it was a proud accomplishment. 

"Oh yeah?" Neil asked, half paying attention and half browsing his feeds on his phone. "Sounds cool." 

"What does that have to do with finding Max, again, Nikki?" 

"The dog knew something that I didn't!" Nikki protested. "I had to interrogate it, and I knew there was only one way I was gonna be able to make it talk..." 

Gwen shot Neil a look that Neil saw but didn't acknowledge. He instead brought his cup of coffee to his lips. 

"Also, the guy who owned the dog told me to fuck off when I asked him if he knew Max." 

Neil nearly spat out his coffee on the spot. Coughing and sputtering, he quickly shook his head and gave the girl beside him an incredulous glare. 

"Nikki! _No!_ Bad!" 

"C'mooooooooon, Neil..! Everyone else gets to say bad words! What's wrong with ME saying them?! _I'm only five months younger than you!_ " 

"And you're STILL five months too young!" 

" _You ALWAYS say that!_ " 

"Children, children," Gwen intervened, putting an arm between them to avoid any potential scuffles. "Let Nikki say fuck." 

"NO!" Neil demanded. 

" **FUCK!** Nikki roared. 

Neil, knowing there was no way he was going to win the argument, hung his head in regret and shame. 

" _Gwen, why would you do this to me. I trusted you._ " 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Nikki chanted happily in the background. 

"Because it's the right thing to do, Neil. _It's the right thing to do._ " 

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUUUUUUUUCK!!" Nikki ran past the both of them and somehow slid on her knees on the dry sidewalk like she was in some Broadway performance. She did the jazz hands and everything.

Just watching it made Neil cringe, blanching and nearly crushing the cup in his hands. Nikki was wearing shorts. What fresh hell have they created. 

"I have so much **POWER** , now! _I'm practically unstoppable!_ " 

Gwen looked like she was regretting her decision immensely. 

"Y-Yeah," she hurriedly began, "but with great power comes great responsibility, Nikki. You don't wanna abuse that power, do you..?" 

Nikki stood at once at that; turning on her toes in a blur of motion. Just as Neil suspected, her knees and calves were a vicious red and would absolutely be bleeding profusely in a few moments. She didn't seem to notice, though. 

" _You're so RIGHT!_ I need to use my fuck powers for good!" 

" **Please don't call it that-** " 

"I won't let you down, Neil! I'll use my super fuck powers for the betterment of society!" 

" _Oh please GOD no-_ " 

"And I'll use them to help us find Max, too! I'm sure he'll appreciate my tactics, being the king of fuck himself." 

He can feel it. Yep. Yeah. He's crying. He's fu- **freaking** crying over this. Crying from anger and disappointment like he's never felt before. 

Gwen's face had gone red- clearly trying and failing to hold back the cackles building up in her chest. She had tears in her eyes too, but for a different vile reason. She is true evil. 

"Neil?? Where're you going?" Nikki called out as he turned to walk the opposite direction they'd previously been walking. 

"Away from this heathen. Come on, Nikki, we're going home." 

Gwen exploded in a fit of poorly restrained laughter. Neil turned right back around, grabbed Nikki by the arm, and dragged her away from the toxic influence. Nikki didn't put up much of a fight even though she was visibly confused. 

"Am I in trouble because of my fuck powers..?" she asked quietly once they were about thirty feet or so away from Gwen. 

Their friends' laughter wasn't dying down, and likely wouldn't for a good long time. 

"No, Nik," Neil got out through clenched teeth. "Gwen's just being a bitch right now." 

A beat of silence followed that sentence. 

"Do I have bitch powers, too-" 

" **You have quiet powers. Because it's time to stop talking, now.** "

______________________________________________________

Neil grunted with the effort of tugging at the wrappings, making sure they were tight enough before tying the ends into a knot. He dully noted that Nikki didn't so much as flinch as he did so. It was a minor cause for alarm that had him looking up at her from his place knelt on the grass. 

"How is that?" The blood already deeply staining the white of the bandages had him drawing his hand back. 

"It's fine!" Nikki chirped, kicking her leg up with little to no warning. Neil dodged to the right despite not needing to. 

"Are you sure..? I really wish you'd stop doing stuff like this, Nikki. That was my last roll of ACE bandages." 

"Sorry~!" She wasn't sorry in the slightest. "But you can't really blame me, can you? It's not every day that I find out I have-" 

"Don't." 

"Th-That I have 'you know what' powers!! I had to celebrate it _somehow!_ " 

Neil could only roll his eyes at that as he stood up, brushing his pants off and picking stray blades of grass off of his person. He'd insisted that they stop by the park while walking home so he could sit Nikki down and take care of her bloody knees.  
As much as he disliked any reminders of Max, he disliked his friend walking around injured even more. And they'd sat down under a tree on the opposite end of the park, too.

Everything is fine.

"Oh, speaking of which: Could you hand me my hot chocolate?? I don't want it turning into cold chocolate. Doesn't taste as good, surprisingly." 

"Oh, sure." He'd forgotten that he sat both of their drinks beside himself. He only took a moment to differentiate the two café cups before grabbing Nikki's and handing it to her. 

"Thank you!" 

"No problem. You're all patched up, so if you're good to walk, we should start heading home. It'll be late before we know it. I don't wanna run into the guy whose dog you choked out." 

Nikki snorted at that, lifting the lid of her drink. "Don't be silly, Neil! The guy told me he was going to file a restraining order, so I don't think he'd stick around the park for much longer. Plus, I wanna go feed the ducks before we-" 

" _You didn't tell me you did that HERE._ "

"Uh, duh??" She opened her mouth wide and tilted her head back, downing the still-warm hot chocolate like it was a shot in a shot glass. After an evident gulp, she shook her head and crushed the cup against her forehead. Somehow, she managed to do it as easily as he'd crumpled up the flier earlier. 

" _Whoo!_ That's the good stuff! I'm pumped up and rearing to go!!" She jumped up in one energetic bounce, licking her lips and rubbing her hands together.

" _Let's go feed us some ducks. Mama wants to pet their fluffy little heads._ " 

Neil opened his mouth to protest, but finding that he didn't have any good arguments for the innocent request, closed it and shook his head to himself. He reached down and picked up Nikki's discarded cup instead, looking around until he found a recycle bin across the way.

"Yeah, you go do that. I'll catch up with you in a sec." 

"DUCKS, DUCKS, DUCKS, DUCKS," Nikki shouted, running off to the pond with abandon the moment she was give the okay.

Some people who had been walking a dog on the trail stopped and stared at her not too kindly. Neil sent them a glare that they undoubtedly didn't see while making his way over to the trash bins. 

He was sure that Nikki would be alright in the couple of seconds it took him to toss the cup away; as well as the couple of minutes he wanted to take for himself. It's been a long day of worrying about this and worrying about that. He wanted to kick back for a bit before he was inevitably dragged back into something or another. 

Leaning against the recycling bin, he took a deep breath and released the tension in his shoulders that he hadn't realized was there. The hot summer weather looked like it had been picking up steadily day by day when school was still in session. Today, however, a nice breeze was going. It made going outside much more tolerable despite the humidity still being present. 

He could hear some birds chirping off in the distance. A dog barking every once in a while from a direction that he couldn't exactly pinpoint. People laughing at some sort of joke further down the walking trail.  
Everyday little things that he usually ignores in favor of completing a task or focusing on something else. He greatly prefers being indoors over being out in the open like this, but for what it's worth, today hasn't been all that bad. 

Shifting his weight awarded him with another sound, though. One that didn't quite belong in the natural atmosphere. 

The crinkle of paper. 

Neil felt the stiffness return to his back, standing up a bit straighter at once out of impulse. He'd forgotten about the missing poster he pocketed rather than throwing away. Coincidentally, he realized this while standing right next to a trash can. 

It seemed obvious enough. Remove the garbage, put said garbage where garbage belongs, and continue to enjoy the 'silence'. A small action that would have taken him all of two seconds shouldn't have been as difficult as his body was making it. 

Alas, what he wanted and what ended up happening were two different things. He took the ball of paper out of his pocket and unravelled it, being extra careful not to tear it any more than he might have previously. Smoothing out the crinkles and dents in the paper, his mouth turned down into a firm frown as the words on it became legible again. 

_MISSING: Maxwell Arya Wood. Last seen Friday night-_

He didn't need to read it again. Max isn't missing. 

The poster was haphazardly torn in half. The pieces were wadded back up and thrown into the green bin behind him. At least _one_ of those things was put to good use. 

Max _isn't_ missing. He kept telling himself that as he pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. Max's place in them was muscle memory at this point. 

No new messages. No missed calls. Last text sent to Max was last night. He grimaced as he remembered he'd gotten pissy with his friend shortly before the party was supposed to start. 

All of them were his. Max hadn't responded once. 

They'd gotten into an 'argument' the day before. 

 

_"What has gotten into you??" Neil had asked with an angry huff, sending a glare Max's way. "I didn't expect YOU of all people to actually WANT to go to a party."_

_"Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think. Get off my ass about it, Neil."_

_"Um, no. I won't 'get off your ass about it'- they don't even want you there, man. And what ever happened to HATING Thompson?! You DO remember that he's the guy who tries to trip you in the hallway, like, every day, right? Hell, he called me a 'dirty Jew' and told YOU to 'go back to India'! How can you seriously want to-"_

_Max had the nerve to flip Neil off and stick out his tongue. Completely uncaring of what he was trying to say and why he was saying it._

_They'd been hanging out together the day after Jacob (one of Max's old 'buddies') started sending out mass texts about a "School's Out" party at Silverlake Park. Naturally, it picked up traction pretty fast, and soon word had reached the three of them._

_Nikki hadn't shown any enthusiasm for it. She wasn't really a party person unless it was Ered throwing it. Wonder why that is._  
_He's not big about going to loud crowded places with people he barely knows and potentially being offered booze or nondescript drugs. Not like he'd even be welcomed there in the first place, but still._

_Max has never shown any real particular care for social events of any kind in the past. Heck, the closest thing to a celebration he's seen Max throw are birthday parties for David. He'd expected his response to be the same as it had been for all of the other party announcements that had happened in the past._

_He just doesn't understand why it wasn't._

_That's not the only thing that was worrying him, though. His friend has been acting unusual for weeks: Being more argumentative and quick to anger than he has been in more recent years._  
_Living with David helped Max to mellow out a lot. He's been growing more calm and rational and easy-going as the years pass, Neil noticed. He was still a hard-ass and would curse anyone out at the drop of a hat if you pissed him off, but it was a pleasant change._

_Now, though? Now it honestly felt like they'd jumped back to when they were kids and Max still had his walls up. He wouldn't openly admit it, but the change was jarring. It was scaring him. He felt like he was slowly but surely losing his friend._

_Now here he is, on his front door step and treating him like he's being the unreasonable one._

_"Max, I'm serious. They're gonna beat the shit out of you if they see you show up."_

_Max just shrugged at that. "Maybe that's what I want, huh? You don't know everything about me. Just drop it-"_

_"I know_ **_enough,_** _Max. Something's up with you and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."_

_Max quirked a brow in his direction, lips turning up into a smile. "That a promise?"_

_"Max-"_

_"Don't waste your time, big guy. Enjoy your Thursday."_

_"Don't you turn away from me, mister-"_

_Max put his hand up in a peace sign and turned to walk home. The little bastard had been grinning the entire time. This was just a game to him, wasn't it?_

_"Max!" he called out, taking a few steps in his direction. "Max, don't you dare do anything stupid!"_

_Max didn't even bother to look back. Neil didn't follow him._

 

Neil's thumb was on the call button in an instant. He had started making his way back to the tree after he remembered that he left his coffee there. He didn't hesitate to put the phone up to his ear during his quick strides. 

"Pick it up, Max.." 

Max **isn't** missing. He'll turn up either later tonight or sometime tomorrow. He **isn't** missing, and when they see each other in person again, Neil is going to slap him. Right across the face. As hard as he fucking can. 

The call had gone through. It rang once. Twice. Three times. 

Reaching his destination, he knelt down to pick up his coffee. Something out of the corner of his vision had caught his attention, though. A dull blue-ish glow that didn't fit the vibrant green of the grass. 

Actually, there was something black in the grass, too... And was it.. _vibrating..?_

"Hey, this is Max. Uh, I wasn't at my phone so I wasn't able to get to you. Leave me a message or-" Neil didn't hear the rest of the automated response. Both the phone _and_ his coffee left his grip as he tried to process what he was seeing. 

"No fucking way... No, there's no fucking way-" Neil didn't think, he just dove. He grabbed onto the device as quickly as humanly possible, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Hands unsteady, he turned the phone around and inspected it as closely as he could. The surface was smooth, if not a bit slick. It was a familiar sight that only managed to speed up Neil's racing heart.  
Running his fingers along the screen sent a dizzying wave of dread through him. It landed directly in his stomach, making him feel like he'd be sick at any moment.

There's no way this can be it. There's no way. 

But it was. It was Max's phone. 

On silent, a little wet from the morning dew, and with a cracked screen, but it was Max's phone.

" _What?_ " he said aloud to himself, brows knitted together in confusion. He looked up at once at his surroundings, hoping to find any sign of left behind beer bottles or litter or- anything. Any traces of the party from last night. Anything that would support the theory of partygoers walking so far from the original location. 

There was none. The grass looked relatively untouched, save for where he and Nikki had been sitting on it earlier.

He tried to rationalize the fact that it's been hours since the party. Someone could have come by and cleaned up the aftermath. He didn't actually have any idea if the larger mess itself had even been touched yet, but it wasn't something that was hard to assume. 

Shaking his head, he turned the phone back over and tapped it twice. Max's lockscreen consisted of a classic black background with large white letters saying "Don't touch my phone, you stupid idiot". 

Well, he's a stupid idiot, and he's touching Max's phone. What's gonna happen now? 

"Why would you leave this all the way over here, Max..?" It doesn't make any sense. He was on the complete **opposite** side of the park! It'd take him ten minutes or longer to walk to the 'crime scene' from where he was now. 

And another important question: Why is it _cracked?_ In all his years of knowing Max, he's never seen the guy break a phone screen. ... By any fault of his own, that is. By tripping or having an asshole steal it for shits and giggles, maybe, but something like that has only happened twice or so. 

He wanted to investigate further. On the off chance that someone had taken it and left it out here, they might have left something incriminating on his phone and hoped no one would find it out here. Unfortunately, it required a passcode in order to be accessed. Of course it did. 

He'd been about to attempt to guess the code when he stopped himself. 

Why... is he even doing this..? Why is he trying to look through Max's phone behind his back? What is he trying to do- get the guy to be even _more_ pissy with him?? 

Max isn't missing, he isn't 'gone'. There's nothing that he needs to 'investigate'. No one took his stupid phone. He must have just come this way for whatever reason and dropped it somehow. That's it. That's all that happened. He is not going to look through Max's phone. All he's going to do is pocket it, return it to David, then- 

"Hey, Neil! What're you doing still over here??? You're missing the hot duck action!" Nikki said way too loudly, popping into view out of the corner of his vision out of nowhere. 

" _GAH- SHIT-_ " He jumped, fumbling with the phone for a second or two before losing his grip on it. 

"Why were you just on your phone?" Nikki asked, reaching out and grabbing ahold of it before it hit the ground. "Were you texting Max? Is he okay??" 

"Ah- You- He's- Nikki, wait-" 

"Oh, wait... This is Max's phone. Where did you-" 

"I found it in the grass. Just, give it back to me. We need to get it back to David." 

"What? And _not_ snoop around a little?? As if." 

Neil bit back a bitter retort. "Oh, and like _you_ know the passcode for it?" He failed. 

He got up off of his knees and walked around so he could look over Nikki's shoulder. She skillfully typed in '6969' like it was some part of her daily routine. 

It worked. 

"What the _hell-_ " 

"I thought you were supposed to be the science guy, Neil?? Couldn't you have just hacked it or something?" 

"W-Well- _yeah_ , but that's- no, that's NOT what's important right now; **how did you do that?!** " 

She turned her head to look up at him. Her face looked so innocent as she said: "It's Max's favorite number. I just put it in twice and it worked." 

Gimme that," he snapped, snatching the phone from her hands and bringing it closer to his face. 

Max's background was.. unusual, to say the least. It just looked like he had a black backdrop with a giant white 'X' over it. Peculiar, but it screamed punk and Max at the same time, so he didn't question it too much. 

Max didn't really have that many apps, shockingly enough. For how often he's tapping away at it, he'd have suspected some sort of game like Angry Birds or- _something._ Fucking Candy Crush would have sufficed.

No, instead, what Max had on his phone was as follows: Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Talking Angela (seriously, Max), and Tinder-

Neil found himself staring at the Tinder icon for longer than was necessary. Narrowing his eyes at it, he dragged it to the top of the screen and deleted it.

"Haha- nice."

"Shut up."

Swiping through the different screens, he made sure he didn't miss anything else that there might be. Aside from the basic things like the notepad, alarm clock, and flashlight, there was the photo gallery. He'd been more concerned about the photo gallery than anything else, but he wanted to be thorough first.

"Do you think Max takes nudes of himself?" Nikki asked out of the blue, halting Neil's act of opening said gallery.

"Nikki. Why. Would you say that."

She shrugged. "Dunno. It's a possibility, I mean- he had Tinder."

" **Who would he even send them to?!** "

"You don't have to send them to people to have them, Neil. Besides, David had a Tinder, and he ended up getting someone who isn't Bonquisha in his life-"

" **ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT DAVID TAKES NUDE PHOTOS OF HIMSELF??????????** "

"No. _Daniel_ probably does-"

" **NIKKI WHAT THE FUCK.** "

"I don't know- I'm still questioning, okay?! I can't explain everything that pops into my head!" 

" _If you mention. ONE more thing. Relating to David OR Daniel's dick. So help me._ " 

Nikki held her hands up apologetically, though she rolled her eyes. He... was going to forget that she ever said anything like that and move on with his life. That conversation turned into a clusterfuck.

'I'm still questioning, okay?!' God, Nikki better not fucking be crushing on Daniel or some weird shit like that. He refuses to even process that thought.

Biting back bile, Neil opened the photo gallery and quickly browsed through it. There had been well over one hundred pictures in there, but he soon discovered that most, if not all, of them were purely scenic ones of nature. They all ranged from breathtaking views of the sunrise, to casual photos of him and David at the park.

It was.. the least surprising thing he'd come across today. Max was known to 'capture moments' whenever he came across a particularly good photo opportunity. He could take a wild guess at who he got the idea from.  
Still, that's.. all there really was. Sure, a few selfies were littered throughout, but they were all normal and didn't particularly catch his eye.

Looking through Max's phone had been a waste of time. Just like he thought- **knew** it would be. There was nothing even remotely suspicious or helpful here. Of course there wouldn't be.

Because Max isn't missing. He'd gotten worked up over nothing. He's _been_ getting worked up over nothing.

This is ridiculous.

"Nothing, huh?"

"Nope."

"Darn.. Well.." Nikki looked off to the side, shoulders evidently slumping before she brought them back up. "Guess we're just gonna have to work harder at finding him..!"

"Don't tell me you actually think he's in trouble, Nikki."

"Well..."

Neil grit his teeth together, turning off and pocketing Max's phone right beside his.

"He's _not_ , alright? We wasted our time looking around for him. The worst he is is hungover somewhere and disoriented. It's what he gets, anyway, for ignoring us."

"That's... pretty mean, Neil."

"HE'S been 'pretty mean' to us! You can't tell me it didn't hurt when he practically cussed you out just for asking him how he was that one time."

"But-"

"Or how about that one time where he acted like you didn't exist for the whole day, and made you think you'd somehow became a ghost!"

"He's-"

"Or that time he-"

"He's our **friend** , Neil!" Nikki shouted at him before his next few words could form. He stammered momentarily before going quiet, taking a step back from her.

"Yeah, Jacob and the other guys were probably just jerks and didn't actually do anything that awful to him, and _yeah_ Max can be difficult sometimes- but that's just _Max!_ _We're_ difficult with HIM sometimes. Does that make us enemies?"

Neil remained silent.

"I knew he was just going through a tough time, and that he'd talk to us when he was ready. _You_ were the one pushing him a lot, Neil..."

" _Me??_ "

"Yeah! Getting all up in Max's face hasn't really solved anything in the past. Why would it solve anything now? Max is like a cat, Neil! You can't just scare him off by being so impatient!"

Neil was.. at a loss. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he _could_ say to that. Nikki's alarmingly level-headed and responsible way of looking at things had him freezing up. She had put him on the spot, and he had nothing to say for himself.

He'd thought he'd known Max the best out of the two of them. They hung out pretty regularly and talked practically every day. Apparently that.. ultimately didn't mean anything. Did it??

He looked down at his shoes, shame hot on his face.

"Neil..?"

"Forget about it. It's- It's fine. Let's just.. go home already."

"But, you dropped your coffee-"

"Throw it away. I don't want it anymore."

Drinking or eating anything was the last thing on his mind right now. All he wanted to do was go home and collapse on his bed. He's sweaty, he's tired, and he's done. Thinking about Max is _prohibited_ for the rest of the day.

If he wants to be stubborn and childish and selfish, then he could play the exact same game. No more helping Gwen and David look around. No more concerning himself with **anything** Max does until that fucker apologizes. Those are just the facts.

Sliding a hand into his pocket, he ran his fingers along the backside of Max's phone. He'd stop by David's place and drop it off before heading home. Might as well, while he's out.

He's bringing this day to a close. Bruised, beat up, or drunk, it's not his problem. Everyone around him can panic all they want, so long as they don't try to get him involved again.

Max is **not** missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caressing Max's phone case, Neil?? That's super gay, dude


	4. Act 1: Found

It's been three weeks. Three weeks and counting. No signs of Max, and no signs that he'll be returning anytime soon. 

Search party after search party have come and gone, and they all were failures. Regardless of how much they asked around and regardless of who they spoke with, no one had any helpful information on the case.  
Yes, it was officially 'a case'. Max's disappearance had been covered in the local newspaper at least once, if his memory served him correctly. Police and law enforcement got involved, much to his distaste, but he understood that it had to be done. 

However, if there's one thing he's learned about the world outside of the walls, it's that some things stay the same wherever you go. If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. 

Daniel didn't trust law enforcement to be of any real help in finding David's son; dead or alive. He loathed to think of Max in such a way, but he couldn't ignore the possibility at this point. 

He's been doing his research long before he cut off contact with the society. He's been learning non-stop since. Being in an alien world with a foreign list of rules and societal standards demanded that much from him, and he was eager to give it.  
People go missing quite often. They get hurt, they get lost, they get taken. For what purposes, it all varies, but he could be certain that this wasn't a matter of petty squabbling between two businesses. That marked a difference between this world and his. 

People are killed, sometimes just for fun. Just to say that they had killed before. Things are stolen- commonly out of necessity, but stolen nonetheless. He'd never experienced such desperation, be it for food or everyday household appliances, and he'd never witnessed it in person. He knows it happens, though. 

People are ineffectual. Especially in tasks that they have no reason to be. Be it in the field of self-defense, their boring day jobs, their daily domestic duties- they're ineffectual in just about anything when you think about it. Mistakes are human, yes, but what confuses him is the evident lack of **discipline** and care in the society he's come to call home. 

His main concern lied heavily in the.. 'issues' that seemed to be plaguing the police force despite the fact that it only serves to complicate their lives further. Racial discrimination is yet another thing that he has yet to experience in person, but it doesn't exactly take a genius to know it goes on. 

Max's birth parents were immigrants from somewhere in India. He remembers that having been mentioned at least once or twice. Not that the information mattered, exactly, as Max was far from 'white-passing'. 

Daniel didn't know how outrageous his concerns were, as he realized the fact that he couldn't over-generalize, but he saw them as valid enough to keep in mind and further solidify his distrust. Being formerly associated with something akin to a hitman agency kind of made him wary of police just on instinct, actually. 

Maybe he's being too uptight about all of this. He's thinking too much like a criminal; which he absolutely is and he's proud to admit that, but he hasn't done anything illegal lately. No need to draw suspicion onto himself by acting noticeably cruel to the officers should he need to speak with them again. 

These last few weeks have just been... _hard._ The air in the apartment has slowly but surely been growing stagnant. David and Max gave the house life, as Daniel was never too sure of how to act around the both of them just yet. Was he supposed to treat them both like friends, or _call_ them friends while retaining a strictly work-like relationship with them both?? 

He didn't know. All he knew was that it's been getting harder and harder to breathe lately. Whenever David stopped by the apartment, mainly to eat, sleep, and ask him about any updates on the case, he left a trail of despair in his wake. It made Daniel's chest constrict.

It made him.. nervous. It made him _upset._

'Working' is always David's excuse for not being around as often as he used to be. 'Taking a walk' would be the second excuse. 'Max' was the choked up third. He couldn't do anything but to watch this hard-working young man fall apart before him, because he doesn't know what to do.

He doesn't know if he should really be getting involved all that much. This is a _personal_ matter, after all. A _family_ matter. Yes, he'll do whatever he can to help find Max and assure his safety, but his heart isn't in it. He cares, but he also doesn't. 

It's only been roughly ten months or so since he moved into David's apartment, per David's insistent request upon seeing his previous living conditions. Honestly, Daniel could have made do with the rundown cabin out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't _need_ running water and electricity _that_ badly. 

And hunting animals for food had been kind of fun!

An involuntary shudder wracked his body, reminding him that no. No it had not been fun, and he needs to stop lying to himself to make things seem better than they actually are. 

Daniel leaned back onto the couch in the silent, too silent, living room; hands coming up to grab onto his arms in a form of self hug. Staring up at the ceiling, his mind automatically cataloged the amount of thin, barely visible cracks running along it. The number '20' came into his mind, and ticked up to '22' as his eyes traveled around out of lack of anything better to do. 

Annoyed with his senseless counting, he forced his eyes shut and let out a deep sigh through clenched teeth. 

Ten months might seem adequately long enough to get yourself settled and acquainted with your roommates, but it might as well have only been ten _days_ in his mind. Six years had passed since the 'camp incident', and yet the wounds still felt so fresh every time he looked at or thought about either of them. 

That might have something to do with Max making sure he didn't forget about it, though. The kid made a snide remark about it every other day, he swears. Their relationship had been growing slightly less rocky in the more recent months, so he couldn't tell if the latest jabs had been in good fun or not. 

Still, they happened, and it still made him more than a little uncomfortable. He knew it _shouldn't_ be making him so disgruntled, but that fact just helped in bothering him even more. It didn't help that Max's disparaging remarks had hit an all-time high just before he'd left. 

He'd wanted to question him on the sudden spike of cruel and uncalled for behavior, but Max is gone, now. It's not Daniel's fault whatsoever, but the kid is gone, and it feels like he took everything with him. 

Daniel didn't exactly have a _place_ in all of this. At least, not one that he could easily see. David is the grief-stricken father. Gwen is the supportive best friend. Neil and Nikki are the 'dynamic duo', so to speak, as they're constantly out and about and doing everything in their power to help out. 

And he's the caught in the middle of all of this. Everything would be so much _easier_ to deal with if he could just figure out a definitive role for himself. Every time he joins in on a search party or discusses possible theories with the group, he feels disconnected from himself. Like he's filling in for someone else's job with only a vague list of his responsibilities to go off of. 

He doesn't know how much more of this he can take. 

A voice in the back of his mind was calling these thoughts selfish. Usually he'd have proof to combat its lies- or at least have the strength to just outright ignore it. He'd always had something better to do than just sit around and wait to be useful. 

He has nothing at the moment, and it's eating away at him. The living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms have all been vacuumed exactly five times today. He reorganized his, David's, and Max's bookshelves and dusted off said books. He cleaned every piece of silverware and china in the kitchen. Twice over. He obsessed over his own attire for at least two hours, making sure everything was perfectly in place and everything was perfectly in order. 

It didn't feel like nearly enough. He should be doing something else- something **more.** The want- no, the **need** to be of use, to be put to work, burned along his body like a bad itch. 

Daniel didn't know what to do with himself, and he despised it. 

He could take a shower, if not for any other reason than to pass the time. It conflicted with the fact that he'd already perfected his physical appearance. Taking a shower meant completing the process all over again (not that he minded, of course). 

He could make David something to eat when he got home. The man has been neglecting to eat regular healthy meals. Naturally, it would take a great deal of persuasion to get him to even _look_ at anything he tries to make, but it could be a start..? 

He's been counting away the seconds with every tap on his arm. If his math was accurate and his memory from the last time he checked a clock was precise, it'll be eight o'clock in about five minutes. David should be getting home from work soon, but more importantly... 

Daniel sat up and looked to the television across from him. He pointedly ignored his own reflection in the black screen, instead turning his head minutely to make sure the remote was still beside him. He's made it a point to keep up with the local news in any way he can- now more than ever.

Neil and Nikki seemed pretty certain that the culprits behind Max's disappearance were a group of kids from their school. Unfortunately, nothing ever came out of that very plausible theory. He's kept it in the back of his mind. He wished he could interrogate those kids himself. See them in person and clear up any confusion surrounding their possible  
involvement. 

He'd **make** them talk. It wouldn't be hard at all to track at least one of them down. Catch them in a vulnerable position and get the information he needs. David would never let him within five feet of _any_ of the school children, he knew, but David doesn't get to decide what he does and what he doesn't do. 

It'd be for a good cause. What's another missing person report to add to the pile? 

He grimaced, bringing up his right hand and snapping the hair tie across the skin on his left wrist. 

It was a tiny wake up call, reminding him that murdering children isn't something he's allowed to do anymore, and that he needs to think about something else. 

It was David's idea: Finding some way to reel him in like a dog and teach him 'right' from 'wrong'. Whenever he felt like he was having 'bad thoughts', he was supposed to minorly injure himself in hopes of it being enough of a distraction to deter him from them. 

To sum up his feelings about the 'exercise' in one word: No. 

He'd wanted to further express his absolute burning **hatred** for the juvenile educational tactic, but if he did so, he'd most likely end up tearing the hair tie off of his wrist and tossing it in the trash. Where it belongs, really. 'No' will have to suffice for right now, though. He needs to think about something else. 

Daniel sat up a bit straighter, eyes darting back to the television. He'd stopped counting the seconds, he remembered with chagrin. Not wanting to miss anything potentially important, he reached over and grabbed the remote to turn the TV on. 

Any and all criminal activity had to be taken into account if he was going to form a steady hypothesis. Max's erratic mood swings were another piece in the puzzle, too, but a less pressing one at the moment. He couldn't focus on things that required questioning in person. He needed to focus on things that he could use as puzzle pieces right away without  
the extra hassle. 

He watched the screen light up- it needing a few moments to process the command before illuminating the surrounding area. The sudden influx of bright had him squinting, and perhaps staring directly at the TV while in a dark room hadn't been the best idea. 

"-ight. How are you, Charles?" a woman with unnaturally red hair asked, glancing at an older man beside her. Daniel's timing had been nearly impeccable, as always. He'd been the last one to use the TV, and he only ever watches one channel, anyway. 

"I'm doing fine, Katie. As good as a man can these days, at least." The news reporters chuckled for a moment. He didn't get the joke. 

"Naturally," Katie put in with a smile. "I'm sure we're _all_ still feeling that way after the series of break-ins in downtown Pine Grove last month, eh? Spooky stuff right there on its own; especially considering they, what, didn't actually manage to _take_ anything??" 

"On the contrary, I do believe an expensive pocket watch had mysteriously gone missing from one such home during their crime spree," Charles corrected before glancing back at the camera. "We mention this, of course, because the young lady most affected by these confusing antics came forward recently with some more grim news on the situation." 

"Ms.Wells, age twenty-three, claims that the people responsible for breaking into her home and stealing her antique pocket watch have returned with a vengeance. Out of the handful of people who were targets for these bandits, she feels as if she's the one they're targeting the most." Katie paused a moment to shuffle some of the papers on her side of the desk. 

"For what reason, we can't say, but we've managed to score an interview with Ms.Wells herself on this touchy subject. Let us know what you can make of it." 

Daniel tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing as he processed the information. He'd heard about the break-ins a couple weeks ago, but as was stated, nothing really came of them. He didn't know what to make of it, and he didn't really think it had any correlation with Max's predicament. 

Honestly, it just sounds like a couple of newbies who have no idea how to be discrete and have no real goal in mind. Though doubtful, he at least _tried_ to pay attention to the interview. 

"-know. I didn't see them- I didn't see their faces. They were wearing- what do you call them?? They had on hoodies over their faces; all men, I believe. Four of 'em. I was getting ready for bed the other night when I heard a window break upstairs." 

Ms.Wells, or 'Angela' he read, was fairly distraught. Each time she tried to speak, her voice trembled and she ended up rambling much more than she probably intended to. She had sharp, eye-catching features, though. What caught Daniel's attention most was her gaze; bright purple eyes with a slightly crazed look in them. 

Was that the word? 'Crazed'? She was hysterical, regardless. 

"As soon as they saw me they ran. I didn't _see_ them take anything, but my great great grandpa's pocket watch- it's gone! I can't find it anywhere!" 

Someone asked her a question off-screen. Daniel didn't hear it. His patience always wore thin whenever he sat down to do this. If what he was being shown was mindless drivel or deemed unimportant, his attention span fought against him. He knew it was.. counter-intuitive, but it was hardly something he could help. 

If anything, he noted that Angela Wells lives not too far from the apartment complex. Nowhere near Silverlake Park, but based on her surroundings in broad daylight, he could take an educated guess and say it'd be maybe a thirty minute drive to Chestnut Avenue. 

Sighing, he stood up and gave a well-needed stretch; something in his shoulder cracking pleasantly as he did so. His hopes were never high when it came to anything on television. He much preferred doing his own research and asking around for public opinion himself rather than relying on news stations, anyhow. 

Perhaps that was the underlying fear of propaganda networks talking... 

...

He's slowly coming to realize that he's a very paranoid person. Oh no. That's not good. Paranoia and professionalism don't mix well. He hopes that David doesn't see him as paranoid. That would be detrimental to- 

To... To... _what?_ Where had that thought even come from?? Detrimental to.. David's pre-conceived notions of him..? Detrimental to..

Well, that's just going to bother him for the rest of the night. Great. Yet another example of him obsessing over things that aren't worth the time or effort. Lovely. There is a missing child that needs to be found, and **this** is what he's thinking about. 

Get it together, Daniel, seriously. 

With any luck, David will be due home soon and _not_ 'taking a walk' for the third night in a row. He needs to get his head in the game and stop being so... so... 

He needs to stop going on tangents with himself. That's what he needs to do. Comforting David is a daunting task on its own. Being mentally present for it is a _must_ if he's ever going to hope to do it _right._

The news being irritating background static at this point, Daniel moved to grab the remote and turn the TV off. He paused, though, as something in his mind was slowly beginning to click together. Hesitating, he lowered the remote, carefully re-thinking what he'd just thought to himself. 

'Comforting David is a daunting task'. 'David will be due home soon'. 'He hopes that David doesn't see him as paranoid. That would be detrimental to-' 

"That would be detrimental to my _job,_ " he said aloud to no one in particular. Realization flooded through him at that exact moment; quickly followed by a hot flush of something akin to.. embarrassment? Is he feeling.. bashful? 

What **is** this feeling?? He feels... He feels... _responsible._ He feels responsible for David's emotional state and general well-being. He's aware that David is fully capable of taking care of himself, but certainly _not_ when he's grieving over his lost son. 

Daniel needs to be an emotional anchor for David in these trying times. **That** is his reason for involvement. _That_ will be his motive for being active in this case. Outside of keeping up a friendly public appearance, he'll have a goal to keep himself in line. 

Find Max. Help out with the investigation. Cooperate with law enforcement if he has to. 

Protect David. 

Whatever he does from now on will be for David. That feels... _right._ The familiar blossoming of satisfaction in his chest had Daniel giving a little thoughtful hum. 

Whatever he ends up doing will have to be a bit more _legal_ than he might like, but that was a minor constraint that he'd work around. For David's sake, he added with the vaguest smile he could offer. 

That smile fell, however, as reality slowly came back to him. He could hear the droning of the TV in the distance, but he didn't care enough to begin to decipher the words. He could distinguish a man's voice speaking and nothing else. But more importantly, he could hear approaching footsteps just outside of the front door. 

Quickly, Daniel turned off the television and threw the remote back onto the couch. If he missed anything note-worthy, he was certain he'd read about it later.  
Running a hand through his hair to quell his rising nerves, he turned to look expectantly at David as his friend opened the door. 

"David!" he greeted with warmth that was so easy to fake. "Welcome back. How was work?" 

Daniel tensed instinctively as David looked up at him. The man's hair was a bit scruffier than usual, he noticed at once. He always had bags under his eyes, but they're more pronounced now. With how red and splotchy his face was, David had undeniably been crying before he got home. 

His eyes were as dead as he's ever seen them. A common sight nowadays; especially when paired with slightly mussed attire. They were little things that people might not pick up on on first glance, but they were like danger signs to Daniel. 

Protect David. 

"Are you alright?" he tried again when he didn't get any response. David simply closed the door behind himself with a soft 'click' and had begun to make his way towards Daniel's person.  
Daniel wanted to take a step back from the unwanted advancement. Going against the grain, however, he stepped forward to meet his friend halfway. 

"I didn't," David started in a harsh whisper. He cleared his throat. "I didn't find him. No one had any new information- _do you??_ " 

The imploring look sent Daniel's way had him freezing up unexpectedly. He wanted to lie, oddly enough. He wanted so badly to say 'yes', even though he knew it wouldn't help anything. Lying his way out of this situation would be detrimental to his mission. 

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. The police haven't contacted me either. I'm sorry-"

David faceplanted himself into Daniel's shoulder without any warning. Startled, Daniel gave a few rough blinks, not having anticipated to be acknowledged this much. If anything, he'd been expecting a brief conversation that consisted of one to five word sentences before David retired to his room for the night. 

Instead, the man is sobbing into his shoulder while he himself is as still as a statue. Not the worst situation to find yourself in. 

" _We're never gonna find him,_ " David muttered pathetically, muffled against Daniel's shirt. " _H-He's probably dea- h-he's probably gone forever._ " 

David sounded much more resigned than usual. He doesn't like that. 

" _Wh-What am I gonna do without him, Daniel..??_ " 

Oh, no, he doesn't like that one bit. 

Taking only a moment to process the action, Daniel gently pushed David away from himself just enough to cup a hand over his left cheek. It was an action that his mother had done with him many times, perhaps hoping to comfort him in stressful situations. 

He'd never managed to actually _feel_ comforted by it, but then again, he's also never been all that fond of his mother. 

"Don't worry about that. We're going to find him." 

" _Y-You don't know that-_ " 

"I used to be a prophet back home. You don't know what I'm capable of, Sunshine." 

That had David pausing for a moment, a shudder running through him that Daniel was certain he shouldn't comment on. Sniffles quieter than they had been previously, David opened his eyes and gave Daniel a look that made him worry that the nickname had been a bit much. 

" _'Sunshine'..?_ " 

"What? Doesn't it suit you?" He played it off in a breezy tone of voice, bringing a thumb over to tug at David's frown. "It's what your smile reminds me of. You should do it more often, Sunshine." 

David's eyes darted away from him faster than he'd really wanted them to. He decided, then, that he was being too forward and attempted to remove his hand from David's person.

David reached out and grabbed onto his wrist, tugging his hand back to where it had been. He was still crying, but Daniel could have sworn he saw some semblance of a smile pulling at his lips. 

"I-I _want_ to..." 

"Then.. why don't you-?" 

"I-It just feels so.. **wrong.** I-I know I shouldn't- shouldn't be sad all the time.. It's not good for anybody, but- but I-" 

"What feels _right_ , then? We could do that." 

David bit his lip, sneaking a glance back up at Daniel. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but something similar to realization flashed across his eyes. Before he knew it, David was releasing his wrist and pushing himself away.

Confused, Daniel opened his mouth to question the sudden rejection, but he closed it when he saw David's mouth moving. 

"I-I should- I should get to bed. I'm not feeling that great, I have work tomorrow. I-I should go to bed-" 

"David, it isn't even nine yet."

"I-I'm just _really_ tired, that's all." 

"Are you tired, or are you just looking for an excuse to suffer in silence?" 

"I-" David stammered. "That is none of your business." 

"Oh?" 

"I-I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, Daniel, but I'll be- I'll be _fine._ I need to get some rest." 

"Are you sure about that?" 

"You have work too," David reminded with a frown. 

"Yeah, in two hours. I still have some time to kill, and so do you." 

David gave him a long stare, subtly turning his head to the side as his brows furrowed. 

"You're _still_ working night shift?" 

Of course _that's_ what David focuses on. Daniel shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"That's not very healthy-" 

"You're changing the subject, Sunshine." 

Something about that nickname seemed to make David bristle. The man shook his head emphatically before attempting to walk past Daniel; presumably to head to his room. 

"Goodnight, Daniel-" 

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna slide, Davey." Daniel turned and grabbed onto the back of David's shirt, halting his egress.

"Wh- _Daniel!_ WHAT has gotten into you?! I'm _fine-_ " 

"You're about as fine as a dumpster fire, buddy. I know you better than that." 

"But-" 

"That 'but' looks pretty heavy. Lemme carry it for you." 

Yanking David backwards, Daniel caught the stumbling man and didn't hesitate to lift him up bridal style. David is staring at him like he's gone insane. Maybe he has. 

" **DANIEL!** " 

"Sorry David, but I won't have anymore moping on my watch. It's about time I've done something about it, don't you think?" 

David opened his mouth to reply, but Daniel was walking over to the couch and practically dropping him onto it without any warning beforehand. Smirking, he then reached over and picked the remote back up; waving it in the air while never breaking eye contact with the man. 

"Wanna rekindle movie night? I've got the perfect one in mind-" 

"D-Daniel, _what_ is this all about?? I- Like I said, I _appreciate_ the effort, but-" 

"I thought I made myself pretty clear, Sunshine: I wanna see that frown turn upside down. You can't go trying to be nice to people and not expect the kindness to be returned." 

Clearly flustered beyond belief, David looked to be fighting for the words to come as he sat up on the couch. If Daniel knew any better (and he did), he'd say that David was looking for arguments against the special treatment. He couldn't have that interfering with his mission, so he pointed the remote towards the television and turned it back on. 

"Y-You're not.. gonna take no for an answer.. are you..?" 

Daniel grinned. 

David sighed, resigning himself to his fate. There would be no arguing about anything like this in the future. Daniel intended to make sure of it. 

Protect David... 

"Don't be like that, David. You'd do the same for me. ... Oh. Wait." 

"Danny, please-"

"You have. Multiple times. How do you think movie night even became a thing??"

"Daniel, I-I get the point-" 

"Do you? I'm just making sure, because it _feels_ like-" 

David laughed, reaching forward to push Daniel playfully. The sound alone flooded him with immense relief for some reason. "I get it, I get it! Sheesh!" 

" _There's_ the David I know! Was wondering when he'd show up again." 

"Yeah, yeah, okay, you got me. What movie are we watching?" 

"Your choice, but I was kinda thinking a romantic comedy, so how do you feel about Mamma Mia? I also know that's one of your favorites-" 

"But you don't like it very much." 

"Whaaat? When did I say that??" 

David rolled his eyes. "You don't really like _any_ of the movies we used to watch. Don't think I don't see you spacing out!" 

Okay, admittedly that was kind of embarrassing to hear. Daniel coughed and looked off to the side, focusing in on whatever show or another was playing behind him briefly to relieve the static. 

"Y-Yeah, well, how do you _know_ I'm spacing out?? I could very well be listening very intently, mind you, to what the actors are saying!" 

"You liar! I asked you what you thought about High School Musical when I first showed it to you, and you couldn't even name _one_ of the characters!" 

" _You're cutting me deep, here, David. You're cuttin' me deep. I thought we were friends. I'm honestly appalled? How could you?_ " 

"Just admit you don't like movies and we'll call it even." 

" _Over my dead body, you monster._ " 

His cheap tactics were working their magic. David was smiling openly, now; shoulders shaking with silent laughter. When all else fails, banter is the way to go. Even if said banter reveals that your friend knows one of your deepest darkest secrets. 

Movies are just.. BORING, okay?! He can't explain why sitting down and staring at a screen always bores him to death- it just _does._

But he'd never admit that, oh no. Movies are the one thing outside of camping and outdoor activities that bring him and David together. If David likes movies, then _he_ likes movies. Simple as that. 

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" 

"Always. Go get the movie and pop it in- I'm gonna make you some dinner real quick." 

David caught the remote as it was thrown to him, but his smile died down a slight as Daniel turned to walk to the kitchen. 

"Wait. _You_ ate something before I got home, right..?" 

"I had a sandwich earlier," he lied over his shoulder. "What do you want?" 

"Uh. I guess a sandwich, too. I don't really care what you put in it." 

"Excellent choice." 

Walking into the kitchen, Daniel opened the fridge first thing. He made sure to keep it stocked while David was busy either working, looking for his son, or just too downright upset to do it himself. In fact, all of the general house-keeping had fallen to him as of late. 

Not that that bothered him, of course. He liked it, actually. It gave him purpose and made him feel like he was slowly but surely repaying the debt he owed David. Every kind act was working towards that goal, whether David realized it or not. 

He grabbed an unopened loaf of bread and some lunch meat and cheese first. Setting them on the counter, he reached back inside to take out some lettuce and a tomato. He briefly considered also grabbing an apple so he covered all of the main food groups, and decided that he would. 

He couldn't remember if David had breakfast that morning, but he knew he packed the man a lunch. He made a note to himself to always keep track of David's daily diet from now on. It would save the hassle of figuring out what would be most beneficial to make when.

Shaking his head to himself, Daniel opened the silverware drawer to grab a knife. He had a clear objective, now, so hopefully.. _whatever_ happens when he's around both people and sharp objects wouldn't act up again. The last time he'd picked up a knife with other people present, he felt...

... Well, how he felt isn't important now. A quick glance at the hair tie around his wrist was enough to make him start rationalizing again. Soon enough, he was running the tomato under some cold water and setting it onto a cutting board. The busy work was a welcome change of pace in and of itself. 

Humming the tune to a song he'd heard on the radio the other day, Daniel focused his attention towards the living room. The television had gone quiet- likely from David getting it ready for the movie. David, himself, he couldn't really hear doing much of anything. Then again, he supposed he _wouldn't_ hear much of anything when it came to putting a movie into a DVD player.

He didn't want to sneak a peek just to make sure that's what was happening out of fear of seeming paranoid. Being 'mentally unstable' (as Max and his little friend, Neil, calls him) was enough for him. Adding 'paranoid' to that list was not on his agenda, thanks. 

No, for a while, all he heard was the sound of the knife on the cutting board. His own breathing. Someone, or several people, passing by the front door in the hallway. General faint commotion in the rooms beside them and the rooms above them. If he listened closely enough, he swore he could hear crickets chirping outside. 

It was.. pleasant, to say the least. He could feel the previous weight in his chest easing up some. Breathing became a lot easier, now knowing that David was at least making an _effort_ not to be as down in the dumps anymore. A part of him just felt kind of bad for waiting so long to do something about it. 

Thinking to himself and making David's sandwich both at the same time, Daniel hardly noticed the shuffling sounds from out in the hallway. If he had heard them, his mind had likely cataloged it as unimportant and dismissed it without his say-so. 

What he _couldn't_ dismiss, however, was the obvious opening of the door in his peripheral vision. His hands stilled at once, heart stopping as he wondered why David had left the apartment. Had he done something wrong?? Had David forgotten something in his truck?

"Dav-" 

The name died on his lips. Leaning back so he could get a good look at the front door, Daniel felt his mouth go dry. Time seemed to slow as his brain worked overtime in trying to put two and two together so he could understand just what he was looking at. 

There was a man in the doorway- a boy. His hair looked to be what he could only describe as a complete mess of tangles and knots that likely hadn't been cleaned in quite a while. His yellow T-shirt was torn in some places, dirtied in others. His body language screamed pathetic- what with the arms wrapped around himself and his constant shaking and lurching, as if staying standing upright was a battle. 

Something clattered to the floor at Daniel's feet. He didn't know what it was, he didn't think about it- he didn't _care._ He _knows_ the person standing in the doorway. They might be acting like a complete stranger, but they're **not.**

He couldn't see David from where he was in the kitchen, but he knew his friend had realized who was in the apartment at the same time he had. 

"M-... _Max..??_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max, you interrupted them. They were being gay and everything.


	5. Act 1: Decisions

Colors. All there are are colors. Muffled sounds and streaks of light out of the corner of his vision. Vague shapes and muted colors are all the world consists of for the most part, and quite frankly, it's a much better alternative to what he'd been seeing before. 

His right hand is touching- something. Something sturdy and white. Maybe a fence. He can't be too certain, but it's what made sense at the moment. He can feel the warm night air and hear the morphed sounds of crickets all around him. Coming from every direction, almost... 

Loud.. Louder than they should be. Everything is loud- too loud. Why does his vision keep phasing in and out..?? 

_God_ , why does everything **hurt** so much? 

Nothing feels okay. Nothing is okay. He doesn't know where he is, or how far away he is from the- from the _wherever_ he came from. If he squinted, it caused a white hot flash of pain through his temple, but it helped him to better make out his surroundings. 

He's on the sidewalk of some street corner, that's for certain. His chest heaved with difficult breaths- his legs wobbled uncertainly with every step. He'd been.. running. He'd been running not even a few minutes ago. Minutes? _Half an hour??_ What time even is it? 

Reaching into his pocket with his left hand on instinct rewarded him with nothing. His back pocket felt empty, too. He didn't have his phone or his pocket knife, and he had no idea what day it even was; what month. All he knew was that his head hurt, his lungs burned, and he needed to get home. 

Focusing on one task for a large period of time was difficult, though. His head felt.. fuzzy. Swimmy. Is that even a word..?? He doesn't know- it's not important. Another couple of steps around the corner and past the lamp post had him seeing stars. 

Nothing looks familiar. Even if he came up on a street sign, he was certain he wouldn't be able to read it. He saw what looked sort of like cars parked outside of some places, though. The occasional one road past him, and he'd considered briefly trying to get the attention of the drivers, but he chose against it. 

He must look like Hell. He _feels_ like Hell. And on the off chance that someone he knew happened to be in one of those cars... He didn't want to risk it. He didn't think he was on death's door or anything crazy like that. 

He just needs to get home. Doing that alone shouldn't be too hard. 

Whoever had roughed him up so badly was likely on his trail, he knew. He _should_ have continued running and _should_ have stopped those cars regardless of his stupid reputation. He _should_ be much more concerned with contacting the police than getting back to David, but he just.. he couldn't.. 

If he wastes all of his very limited energy on running and calling out for help, he'll be as good as dead anyway. Thinking pragmatically (or at all) while under so much stress might not be his strong suit, but he had enough brain cells left to know not to overly panic and act like a spastic idiot.

Time doesn't feel like it's actually passing; like it's actually present. He can barely feel his limbs at this point. He'd taken his hand away from the fence at some point, though he couldn't remember when or why. Pausing at a splitting pain in his skull, he turned to look behind his person while using what he assumed was another lamp pole to keep his  
balance. 

His vision is progressively deteriorating- it must be. Squinting has become much too painful to keep doing it, but he recognizes the blobs of white across the street as the fence post. It clicked with him then that he had crossed the street without realizing it or getting hit by a car.

Concerning, but okay. That's a start. 

Turning back around, he saw himself trek on, almost like he was outside of his own body watching from afar, but he felt nothing. The world shifted out of focus entirely, and the next thing he knew, he was leaning up against a wall that hadn't been there before. 

He felt like he'd walked inside of a building, but he couldn't remember enough to fully back up that theory. His actions felt more akin to dreams that he'd had the previous night rather than things he had actively just done. Hell, for all he knew, none of this was actually happening. 

Maybe he _is_ dreaming. Maybe none of this actually matters, and he isn't in any actual danger. The searing pain in his head begged to differ, though. It was likely the one and only thing keeping him up and moving, if he _wasn't_ asleep in some ditch somewhere. 

Adrenaline coursed through him, but in weak waves; growing weaker. All logic had been thrown out of the window, apparently, as he gave a rough blink. Opening his eyes not even a full second later, he had switched locations yet again. No longer in the middle of a long corridor-like hallway, but instead now standing in front of a rectangular object. 

A door..? God, he'd never wanted to be able to see properly more than he did in that exact moment. A sense of familiarity surrounded it, almost confirming his suspicions of what he was looking at. Whatever building he'd entered, it felt like home in a strange way. Everything still hurts and he's trembling now more than ever. His mind might be playing some more fucked up tricks on him. 

He might as well not even have EYES at the moment, since they're doing fuck all. Still, he **needs** to get home. He **needs** to see David. He'd be willing to accidentally try to enter some stranger's house right now. If it meant having even a _fraction_ of a chance of being David's apartment, he'd take it. Where else would he be right now but in the complex, after all? 

Reaching an unsteady hand out to the doorknob, he realized just how numb his fingers felt for the first time. What he could only describe as static ran through them; very reminiscent to the kind you feel when your hand falls asleep on you. Staring down at his palm for a moment elicited a grimace. He's trembling so fucking badly that he wouldn't be surprised if he collapsed any second now. 

Subtly shaking his head to avoid another flash of pain, he reached forward a second time and tried to turn the knob. Knocking felt silly if this _was_ David's place. Not to mention the fact that he'd only thought about knocking _after_ the door was opening. 

To his surprise, it was unlocked. He watched the door swing open with a bit of a shove, his eyes seeing triple for a few disconcerting moments. Everything lurched to the left unexpectedly, causing him to grab onto the door frame before he fell with it. 

His heartbeat has never been so loud before; so hard to block out. It's the only thing he can hear now. Guessing his surroundings won't cut it anymore, either. Everything is blending into each other- nothing staying in one spot each time he tries to lift his head up to look around. 

For all he knows, _everything_ in the room could be a person. _God,_ he needs to sit down... He needs to- He needs to not be standing for much longer. He feels like he's going to be sick at any moment. 

" _M-... Ma-x-??_ " 

Something broke through the harsh wall of noise- barely noticeable. He looked up towards it, regardless of the fact that he could hardly see a thing. 

If he didn't know any better, he'd say it sounded... familiar... 

" _M-ax-!_ " Louder this time. More urgent. The ground is falling apart below him. 

" _Grab a-_ " someone started to say. His ears are ringing. 

" _Le-t me drive, you're too-_ " Hands are on him. Grabbing him by the waist, keeping him upright. 

Two. There are two people. In his face, in his personal space. Saying things. Things that he can't make out very well. 

That's alright, though. He doesn't have to to understand everything to know he's being helped, finally. 

A hand brushed up against his forehead- cool and calming when compared to the humid air outside. He eased into it slightly, uncaring of the intentions behind it. It doesn't matter. He's safe. 

" _Ma-x-_ " He doesn't hear the rest of that sentence. He doesn't need to. The world goes black in order to save him the trouble of asking anymore questions. 

______________________________________________________

The waiting room is eerily quiet. If someone dropped a pin, Daniel was certain that he'd be able to hear it. The few people doing their jobs and having quiet chatter behind the front desk did little to ease the foreboding ambiance. 

For once, he had been hoping for sound. He had been hoping for chaos in place of peace and order. Silence gave people time to brood and time for negative emotions and thoughts to stew. The very last thing he wanted was to be- was for _David_ to have to be alone with his thoughts right now. 

Daniel had been the one to drive them all to the nearest hospital. He'd been the most level-headed at the moment, and the most capable of not getting them all into an accident on the way there. David had _insisted_ on being in the back seat with Max. Daniel had been in no place to forbid it. 

Aside from the occasional choked up question and reassurance David threw Max's way in hopes of waking him up, the ride had been somber. Nearly soundless. The tension had been so thick that he wouldn't have been surprised if it ended up fogging up the windows.

Now, they had to play the waiting game. Max was clearly visibly in need of medical attention- clothes ragged and a gash in his forehead nearly caked in dried blood. Thankfully, he received it without any hassle almost as soon as they stepped through the doors.  
The expression on David's face as Max was carried off on a stretcher had been nearly more than he could bare. In just a few minutes, all of their suspicions had both been confirmed and dashed in the most brutal way possible. Plans and theories, hope and dread, all colliding in an abrupt, uncalled for twist of events. 

The future looks somehow brighter than it had before, and murkier than ever. Daniel had had to swallow his rising dread. Ignore the ball of lead solidifying in his stomach and put on a straight face. For David's sake. He can't explain the swarm- the volley of so many painful emotions at once. He can't even properly name a single one of them.

_They aren't important,_ he tells himself. _None of this is about you,_ he rationalizes. _Focus on your job,_ he warns in a voice not his own. It was enough to draw him out of the metaphorical clouds, though, so he was oddly thankful for it. 

Turning his head in his friend's direction, Daniel resumed the role he'd assumed before he lost himself in thought: Being a shoulder to lean on. Not literally, of course. David sat in one of the many chairs, hunched in on himself and with his hands covering his face. He hadn't once said a single word to Daniel since they walked in. Not even during the ride to the hospital. Daniel knew his presence was important even if it didn't seem like it, but he couldn't force himself to ignore the slight burning in his chest that the lack of communication brought. 

He had a hand on David's shoulder, though. Prompting something, anything, from the man that needed to be said. It didn't take a therapist to know that there have been a lot of things David has been bottling up lately. Now more than ever.  
Daniel noted in the back of his mind that having a personal conversation may not be the best idea while in an open public area with other patients around. He didn't let that stop him from at least offering the option. 

Having something to do, something that made him feel like he was doing more than just sitting around waiting again, made Daniel feel a little better. He found that keeping his eyes on David and nothing else distracted him from the white walls and white floors. Apprehension coiled in his stomach like an unwanted parasite. A cold sweat had started up at the nape of his neck as soon as the hospital itself had come into view while still in the truck. 

It had yet to let up, much to his annoyance. Daniel didn't have... _fond_ memories of the emergency room. Tightly-knit locations and communities when mixed with the color white were sore spots, too. An anxiety always welled up in him at even the _mention_ of anyplace fitting those descriptions, although he wasn't sure **why.**

Just another quirk that comes with taking the time out of the day to acknowledge thoughts and out of place emotions, he supposes. Not much he can do about that. Besides, it was just one drawback to being able to be his own person, so he was quite content living with it. 

David shifted his weight. Not enough to be especially noticeable, but more than enough for Daniel to take an interest in the man again. Refocusing on David, he realized that his friend had removed a hand from his face. The other had stayed, but it rested over his mouth rather than the entirety of his face. 

David's eyes are troubled, staring into nothing. Daniel followed David's line of sight to make sure of this. 

He leaned closer, wanting to make David feel as if they had _some_ semblance of privacy at the moment. Speaking felt scandalous, and his voice sounded much louder than it actually was, but the need to know if he could be of use in any way got the better of him. 

"Are you alright?" 

No response. He wanted to try again, despite knowing he might end up making a nuisance of himself if he pushed too much. Granted, he's never seen David truly angry. Merely disappointed in things that Max tends to say and do. Daniel never shows any of his true colors in fear of receiving the same kind of treatment. 

Daniel just needed some clarity- some peace of mind to combat his endless thoughts. If he isn't working then he's worthless and deserves death. 

"I-" There's nothing he can say that will fix this, though. He isn't a gosh darn miracle worker, what is he thinking?? 

The words die out before he can even think of them. He leans back, eyes being drawn towards movement in his peripheral vision. Someone behind the front desk had gotten up and vanished down a hall before long. 

He hates this, he thinks. Waiting. A vast majority of his life has consisted of it, but never before has it impacted him so much. Never before had he been consumed by his own rambling purely because he's being particularly inactive at the moment. 

If this is normal, then how do people live like this..? Being trapped inside of your own mind is a personal slice of Hell that he wouldn't even wish on his worst enemies. 

Worried that he's overstepping invisible boundaries, Daniel carefully removed his hand from David's shoulder. If David wasn't going to speak or acknowledge him, then perhaps he could occupy his time another way? The waiting room isn't absolutely bustling, but it isn't a ghost town, either. There has to be something else he can- 

He jolted, a hand grabbing onto his wrist halting that thought process. 

Confused, he glanced down to find that David had noticed and apparently disapproved of his disengagement. David's aloof demeanor had made it difficult to read his emotions, so he was glad to see confirmation that he hadn't crossed any lines by accident. The tension between them was purely about Max's situation and nothing more. 

After a few moments of understanding between them, David released his wrist and attempted to interlock their fingers together. Daniel let him. 

Whatever David needed from him, he would give it. He didn't dare to move an inch from his position beside the man- back straight and posture as presentable as can be. He still had a job to do, and by God (whatever god exists) was he going to do it. 

A quick glance at his watch told him it was a little past nine-fifty. Trying his best to focus entirely on David to avoid his own mind for a while, he took notice of patients coming and going. Brief conversations were had not quite out of ear-shot, but not close enough to decipher much of. 

Time passed, and with it came news; the good for some and the bad for others. Waiting families and friends were removed from the public eye more than once, and with every passing person, he could tell David was growing more restless. Bottling up his despair in hopes of not making a scene. 

At some point, their hands had fallen away from each other; David needing to stand and pace to burn the energy. Daniel found the action to be the opposite of comforting, but he didn't say that. _That would be rude_ , he reminded himself. So, instead, he simply stayed where he was and kept watch of both David and the surrounding area. 

The waiting room felt much more empty than it had before. They must be into the later hours of the night by now. The familiar sense of stagnation had encompassed the room a while ago, but only now was he beginning to feel its effects. For some reason he couldn't place, he felt a bit ill. The kind of ill that made _him_ more than a bit restless, to be honest. 

And, hey, who knows? He might have gotten up to join David in the superfluous activity, had the air become that much more unbearable with little to no change. Luckily, it hadn't needed to come to that. Shoes on pristine white tile alerted them both, and soon the pacing came to an end. 

"Mr.Wood?" A charming man, a doctor, broke the silence, be it for good or worse. "Sorry to keep you waiting. A word?" 

David didn't hesitate for a second to respond to the man- practically racing past Daniel and grabbing onto his arm to make him follow. Daniel rose and stumbled, surprised by the stiffness in his joints as he attempted to keep pace. 

That's.. strange. He couldn't have possibly been sitting still for _that_ long. Just how much time has-? 

"How is he?" David asked, breathless and desperate. 

"Your son is going to be alright, but if you'd just follow me, please, we could discuss-" 

" _What happened to him?!_ " 

"David," Daniel muttered as a warning. Impatience is rather unsightly, regardless of the reason behind it. 

"I'll tell you everything, sir, I promise. Let's- walk and talk?" the doctor offered once more, gesturing down the hallway he'd come from. David didn't need to be told a third time, but his grip on Daniel's arm tightened to uncomfortable levels.

That's.. fine.

He trailed along close by David's side, adamantly keeping his gaze facing forward. He refused to get side-tracked now that the waiting was over. The doctor had said that Max was.. 'going to be alright'..? More than enough reason to keep his wits about him and stay in the moment. 

"My name is Dr.Gross- you can call me Adam, though. Are you two.. together-?" 

"We're friends," David was quick to respond. "He can stay with me, it's fine. What happened to my son??" 

Dr.Gross - Adam - paused while turning the corner at the end of the hall. He had eyed them for a brief moment, attention stalling on Daniel's person for a second too long. A meaningless action, but one that had Daniel sending a glare the man's way. 

He couldn't help the knee-jerk reaction, no matter how rude it may have been. He didn't like being stared at. 

"Of course. He.. suffered several minor abrasions and has quite a number of bruises. Fractures in the chest cavity, but again, nothing major. The only huge concern had been the gash on his forehead. We- cleaned and patched him up. He seems to be in a stable state and is resting right now, but-" 

"Can I see him??" David interrupted. Daniel was tempted to ask him where he thinks they're going currently, but Adam beat him to it. 

"Yes, absolutely. We moved him to the T- er." Adam paused often. Likely to try and replace his learned terminology with everyday language in order to be understood. Daniel could sympathize with him there. 

"He suffered blunt force trauma, so we moved him to the trauma intensive care unit. Do you.. have any idea how he may have sustained such injuries, or..?" 

"We don't know," Daniel began. 

"H-He's been missing- we've been looking all over for him- he showed up at the door and we drove him here. We don't know where he's been and we don't know who did this," David finished for him, words coming out in a rush. "The- The police were already involved, but they didn't have much luck before now."

Adam nodded along, politely squeezing past another resident as they continued on their way. It wasn't that much further of a walk before they reached their destination: An elevator.

"Well, at least he's finally been found. That's good news, right?" Adam said with a small smile, likely trying to lighten the mood. 

And it _was_ good news. Great news, even. But with it came a long list of complications, and questions with not enough answers. With it, Daniel was growing more and more agitated. 

"Your tone implies that there is still some bad news to share," he bluntly pointed out, walking inside of the elevator with David once it arrived on their floor.

Adam didn't try to hide the fact that Daniel was right. "Yes.. Let me.." He trailed off, body stiff and posture straight as he absently pressed the button for floor three. 

"I.. want to discuss it with you both in the TICU, if you don't mind." 

"That bad?" he pushed, ignoring David's increasing pressure on his arm. 

Adam didn't respond, mouth pulling into a thin line. The ride up took seconds, but it felt like minutes. No one wanted to say anything to fill the void, although he wished that wasn't the case. He could practically feel the electricity forming in the air between them due to the building tension. 

David was the first to follow Adam out, denying Daniel a second to gather his bearings before they were moving again.

This floor had a much different energy than the waiting room. Where there had been stillness and a foreboding calm, there was now sound and a more noticeable commotion. Patients, doctors, nurses, families- he didn't take the time to look about and draw all of it in. Not that David's pace would let him, anyway. 

The walkway was a bit more narrow, but only to make room for the injured. His eyes had trouble adjusting to the different shades of blue that went along with the white- a piercing headache being the most defining thing about the.. 'TICU,' it had been called. He had a hard time distinguishing noises from voices. For once, he was glad that David's vice grip hadn't let up whatsoever, as he wasn't certain that he'd be able to follow as well on his own. 

For a brief moment, only just a moment, he could have sworn that he saw a familiar face as they passed by another resident. A face that did not belong in an Abhorrent medical bay- 

He shook his head, instantly wanting to snap the hair tie on his wrist despite his right arm being preoccupied. That word was forbidden now. He couldn't think that way anymore.

Turning sharply to the left, Daniel forced those previous thoughts to ebb away. _You have more pressing matters to focus on_ , he was reminded harshly as he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

He's seen dead bodies- children, even. He's slaughtered people and felt nothing before. He's seen people be shot and he's seen unspeakable acts of abuse. Lived through them himself, actually. Families being torn apart by money hungry corporations and people being denied the right to pray for their loved ones. 

All of those things could tug at your heartstrings, and yet, Daniel couldn't remember ever feeling truly apologetic or remorseful for any of the things he's seen or done. Even at this very moment, he really had to dig deep in order to honestly say 'I'm sorry'. 

And even still, knowing all of this, he didn't anticipate the sudden rush of white hot **anger** at seeing Max for the first time again in potentially hours. 

The word 'desolate' came to mind as he stared at the boy. White bed and white sheets, naturally, were the first things to catch his eye. The white wrappings around the gash on his forehead were next; the deep red sending adrenaline through his body next.  
Daniel's right hand twitched involuntarily, wanting to yank his arm away from David's grasp at once. He wanted- no, **needed** to leave before he hurt something. Someone. 

Needing a distraction, he turned his attention to the machinery near the bed. They were keeping track of Max's vitals, clearly, and it's just what he needed. He didn't have to understand the data fully in order to keep track of it. Something to count is much more preferable to something to stab.

"Please, take a seat," Adam spoke up, sounding far away for some reason. "I'll tell you everything I know." 

At long last, David's grip on his arm weakened before eventually releasing entirely. Daniel resisted the urge to draw it back to his person as quickly as humanly possible- instead letting it hang in the air for a few moments long enough to be socially acceptable. He would know. He counted the seconds.

Adam drew some curtains around the three of them, granting the first piece of actual 'privacy' they'd gotten since they left the apartment. 

"Max..." David's voice cracked. "What else is wrong with him?? D-Does.. Does he have brain damage? I-Is he crippled for life?! _When will he be able to come home?!_ " 

Daniel is nearing his breaking point. He puts a hand on David's shoulder to try and shut the man up before Adam can intervene. 

"David. Why don't you take a seat..? I'm sure Dr.Gross is eager to tell us **all** about it. You just need to let him." 

Admittedly, his own voice sent a shudder down his spine. He could feel it have the same effects on David, too. Fortunately, he didn't need to repeat himself to get what he wanted. As it should be. 

Adam tossed an awkward smile Daniel's way in thanks. He repaid it by folding his arms behind his back and turning his head to initiate eye contact with the man. Blinking never even occurred to him once. 

"R-Right." Adam cleared his throat and took a deep breath to steel himself. Get back into his professional persona, most likely. 

"We.. regret to inform you that.. on top of the _physical_ abuse, we have also found some signs of.. _sexual_ abuse and- misconduct. Granted, only trace amounts of seminal fluid were found, but we have more than enough evidence to back up-" 

"W-Wait, wait, I-I'm sorry- wh- **what?!** " David interrupted, rising from the seat he'd taken not even a minute ago. Daniel could sense the rising hysteria and moved to descalate it. 

Or.. he _wanted_ to. What he wanted and what actually ended up happening were not the same things, however. Rather than comforting David ~~Protect David~~ , Daniel remained by the foot of the bed. His gaze hadn't left Adam, and it wasn't about to. 

A sudden ringing in his ears had halted any solid thoughts he might have had on the situation. The doctor's voice replayed again and again in his mind, and yet he was _still_ having trouble making heads or tails of what he'd just heard. There was no way that something _hadn't_ malfunctioned. Dr.Gross did not just say- 

"Wh-What- What do you _mean?!_ " 

"Exactly what I said, Mr.Wood. Max tested negative for any possible STDs, however, and the injuries are all over a week or two old. The gash was fairly fresh, though, and infected as well. We'll obviously have to keep him overnight to monitor his vitals and make sure everything is in order, but if he recovers well, he should be able to-" 

"I-I'm sorry, I-I don't mean to be rude, but just- please. Please. Stop." David raised his hands, visibly trembling and actively refusing to look at Dr.Gross. The sight, though only in his peripheral, reminded Daniel of a wounded puppy. 

~~Protect David.~~

Adam opened his mouth to add something else to the conversation. Tensions were at an uncomfortable level already. Daniel couldn't allow them to rise any higher, dazed or not. 

" _Thank you_ for your hard work, Dr.Gross." Keeping the malice out of his tone is the hardest thing he's had to do in a long while. "We appreciate what you've done for Max, here, but you've dumped a lot of heavy stuff on us. We're going to need some time to.. _process._ " 

He paused to make sure Adam was soaking in every single word. Daniel forced a smile. 

"We'll be sure to check in with you before we leave. Right now, though, I **think** we'd like to be alone- just for a little while. I mean," he craned his neck to the right, "if that's **alright** with _you_ , of course." 

The intimidation tactic worked. Fear flashed across Adam's eyes- his shoulders rising and nervous smile twitching upwards subconsciously. He was the first out of the two of them to end the 'staring contest' of sorts, causing Daniel to back down and step off to the left to give the man room to leave. 

"So glad you understand," Daniel cooed, jerking a small portion of the curtain back. " _That will be all._ "

Dr.Gross didn't put up any sort of a fight. He knew what was good for him. Nodding to himself, the doctor fought for words to say for a few seconds too long before ultimately ducking out to attend to some other duties. 

Good riddance. 

Letting the curtain fall back to its proper place, Daniel let out a sigh through clenched teeth before turning back to David and Max. With the prick in his side taken care of, he could get back to doing his job. 

David had fallen back onto his chair beside the bed, head hanging low and one of his hands over Max's. He was shaking a bit, which had Daniel taking a step closer. Then another. He was beside David before he knew it, offering a few pats on the back for support. 

Just like back in the waiting room, he didn't have anything that he could really say. The poorly suppressed sniffles coming from David just made that all the harder to admit. 

Still, he tried. 

"David..?" 

"I-I'm sorry, I just-" David stammered and choked out before stopping and shaking his head. David apologizes way too much. "I-It's so... _much.._ " 

"It's alright. I was just- making sure you're okay." He caught himself with a wince. "Well- not _okay_ , obviously, but-" 

He's screwed this up already. Wonderful. Why did he even think this was a good idea? He should have just kept his mouth shut and let David have a moment. He'd just only gotten his son back, for Pete's sake. 

Frowning deeply as he berated himself, Daniel once again removed his hand from David's person. He could always just default and fake the comfort in order to administer it, but that felt.. insincere. As much as he _wanted_ to disconnect from the situation and give _himself_ some time to calm down, he denied himself that luxury. 

In place of physical reassurances, he resorted to merely offering his presence as the gravity of the situation grabbed David by the throat and strangled the life out of him. Daniel could see the negative emotions coming off of his friend in waves. 

No amount of consolation will be able to help this situation. He might as well be trying to put band-aids over a stab wound. Yet again, his stupidity knows no bounds. 

David didn't bother to rekindle the conversation, and neither did he. A quick look at his watch told him that it was going on two in the morning. Logically, they should both be leaving soon. David had work in the morning, and _he_ should have been at work almost four hours ago. 

His job wasn't as important as this, though. Nowhere near as important. Neither of their jobs were. He'd explain himself later, and _David_ could easily call off, considering the circumstances. 

He'd make sure David called off of work. As soon as they get back to the apartment, he's insisting his friend try to get some rest. The others could stand waiting a couple of hours to hear about the news. 

The minutes ticked away without consequence. David emptied himself of his pent up emotions, and all Daniel did was watch; ready to assist should he need to. Slowly, the near-regular sounds of David's distress quieted. Slowly, the tensions drained from the enclosed space, and with them the adrenaline faded. 

It was hard convincing David that they'd be of more use to Max after they went home and got some rest, but luckily for Daniel, he's had quite a bit of practice persuading people in the past. He was trained, raised, to integrate into societies and manipulate to get his way. 

No manipulation was needed to make David turn into putty in his hands, but the idea was there. His methods may be 'questionable' at times, so naturally, the results often spoke for themselves. 

They didn't say a word to each other on their walk back to Daniel's truck. A brief check in with Dr.Gross was had (unfortunately), contact information was shared, and a rundown of regular hospital times was given. After that was all said and done, they went on their way. 

David clung to him the entire time. It was as if he didn't have the energy left to walk on his own and physically _needed_ Daniel to stand upright. He tried to ignore the way David's arms wrapped around his waist accelerated his heart rate. Getting David into the passenger side of the car took priority, anyway. 

Unlocking the car and opening the door, Daniel tried to usher David inside with a gesture of his hand. He'd been expecting it to go by smoothly. At this point, he's beyond exhausted and not exactly focusing as much on certain things as he probably should be.  
Being inside of the hospital had been emotionally taxing in more ways than one. He was normally the type of person to chase sleep on purpose, so suffice it to say that feeling exhausted was nothing new to him. 

**This** exhaustion, however? **This** exhaustion he didn't think he could ignore. They _both_ needed rest. It's been a long day. An even longer night.

Already debating whether or not he'd be alright enough to drive, Daniel barely noticed David's hesitation of getting into the vehicle. It was only when he felt hands grabbing the front of his shirt that he jumped and refocused his gaze. 

"Danny..." Danger had flashed in his vision as the fabric was balled up, but quelled itself easily as he realized where he was and what was happening. 

"What- Um, are you-?" 

"Danny, I-I can't..." David leaned himself into Daniel's shoulder. A common action. "I-I'm sorry, I just.. I can't _believe_ someone would **do** something like this... I-I don't.. I don't know what to think.." 

_I can_ , he'd wanted to say. _People are terrible, David. Get used to it._

That's terrible, though, so he didn't. He had enough sense to know that much. 

"It's.. It's alright, David... Max will be fine-" 

" _No.. No, it's really- really not._ Wh-Whoever did this.. Whoever did this is still out there..! I-I _want_ to believe they feel bad about this-" a poor decision really "-but I.. I have a bad feeling.." 

Daniel paused. "A bad feeling that...?" 

David didn't properly finish his sentence; didn't elaborate despite the prompting. Daniel could feel tears wetting his shirt for the umpteenth time, and bitterly reminded himself to change clothes again later. 

Sighing, Daniel tried yet again to usher David into the passenger seat. As much as he wanted to be of use, he really didn't think he had much more left in him to give. Something nearly broke when he'd seen Max, and something was bound to break if he didn't take some time away from all of this drama. 

Unfortunately, rather than cooperating with the gentle pushes, David abruptly straightened himself out and raised his head to meet Daniel's gaze. Daniel flinched, the hands still in his shirt tightening and causing him great discomfort. 

"I-I don't care what you have to do." 

Daniel's heart stopped beating. His blood ran cold, ice cold, as an unholy dread settled in his chest. It hurt. Physically hurt. 

His mouth curled up into a smile and he offered a few meek chuckles despite the jarring lack of humor in this situation. David had to be joking. He must have misunderstood the context; misread the situation. As far as he knows, David still thinks he'd merely been trying to one-up him back at camp all those years back. 

David couldn't know all of the awful things he's done. He couldn't know of his past intentions. He couldn't know, so then what-? 

"I don't care what you do, okay..? I-I- They can't get away with this. I-It isn't.. It isn't fair. I-It's not right... I don't..." David struggled with himself to get the words out. He was clearly in shock and not thinking straight. That had to be it. He was delusional and had no idea what he was saying. 

"I-I don't.. Daniel.. I don't **want** them to be in jail.." 

No. No. The implications are too strong to be a mistake. 

"D-David..?!" 

"I-I'm so.. I-I'm so **upset.** I-I'm so upset.." 

"David you- David are you asking me to _kill people?!_ " He's going to be sick. 

" _No!_ " A pause. The look in David's eyes made Daniel have to look away. There was something.. sinister there. Something that made him afraid. 

_Afraid..._ Of **David..?**

"Not.. _you.._ per-say.." 

" _David that's really not much better-_ " 

"I-I don't know, Daniel! I don't _know_ what I'm asking you..! J-Just.. please.. I-I don't care what you do, just.. please.." 

David is crying again. Daniel has officially experienced a full on mental breakdown, and he feels wrong. He feels so wrong and uncomfortable. He feels so very sick. 

Blinking a few times to clear the overwhelming static overtaking his mind, Daniel slowly went to grab David by the hands. His actions were excruciatingly sluggish at first, but once a plan developed in his mind, he was yanking the broken man off of his person and practically shoving him into the passenger seat. 

David didn't fight back and practically curled into himself the first change he got. Daniel slammed the door harder than was necessary, chest heaving with the harsh breaths. He didn't take any time to stop there, walking around the front of the truck and pulling his door open with unrestrained anger. 

Telling himself that David wasn't conscious of what his words meant surprisingly didn't help anything. Not a single thing. Emotions overrode every rational train of thought that a person could have had in that situation. He didn't even bother to demand seat belts from either of them before he was twisting the keys in the ignition and driving off.

______________________________________________________

David was pretty much out cold by the time they got back to the apartment. Daniel had next to no trouble carrying the man inside; David didn't really weigh all that much. Normally, that would have been a concerning little tidbit, but he'd barely focused on it- didn't even realize it fully. 

He'd been far more concerned with tucking David into bed purely so he didn't have to stick around the complex too long. Everything went by in a blur, if he was being honest. He processed his hands moving and he processed doing things, but he didn't know exactly _what_ those things were. 

It didn't matter, though. With David out of the picture for a good couple of hours, he now had plenty of time to let off steam before he did something he'd 'regret'. The moment he walked into that hospital, he'd been a ticking time bomb. The endless weeks of searching for Max and cooperating with authorities and taking care of David left him more than burnt out. 

**He's having his own little crisis, thank you.**

Oh, nothing major, of course. Just an uncontrollable need to hurt either some _one _, some _thing_ , or himself. That's all, no biggie. __

____

He isn't really sure of what to call these episodes when he has them. Heck, he doesn't even know _why_ he has them, so perhaps that shouldn't be too surprising. The easy answer would be residual instincts from his days working for the society mixed with some sort of mental illness. He knows feeling remorse about, y'know, the whole murder thing is pretty difficult for him. Might even call it impossible, really. That could be a sign of something being seriously wrong all on its own. Heck if he knows what to make of it, though. He isn't a therapist.

____

... Heh.. Diffi **cult.** That's funny.

____

_He's funny._

____

Daniel vaguely processed the fact that he'd left David's apartment with a click of the door closing behind him. Better to have his own breakdown outside than in, right? It's probably, what, three in the morning right now?? Who would even be out and about to see him? Perfect timing, brain.

____

He didn't have the patience to take the elevator. He doesn't want to be in an elevator again. Walking down the hall and coming up on the stairs, he felt a grin break out onto his face before he could really stop it.

____

The next thing he knows, he's backing up to get a running start and jumping down the flight.

____

He nailed the landing- falling onto the platform and managing to catch himself before he stumbled and fell over. Some part of him found the VERY risky and very unnecessary action to be hilarious. So he laughed at it. Openly. At three in the morning. As one does.

____

The second flight wasn't nearly long enough to get the same effects, as David's living space was only on the second floor, but that didn't stop him from being childish and stupid for a second time. The absolute untold _glee_ that letting loose and being less strict filled him with was his own kind of heroin.

____

Losing your mind for short periods of time doesn't feel so bad, now that he thinks about it. While 'sober', he supposes he could call it, he **loathed** to think of having these thoughts; having these itches to scratch. He couldn't fathom why, now.

____

As far as he knows, no one's DIED due to him needing to go out and get some fresh air. Stray animals he comes across, absolutely. But they don't count. Those are free game.

____

Everything is free game if you don't get caught, actually.

____

An out of place compulsion to snap the hair tie around his wrist had him pausing in his steps. He'd _been_ on his way out of the complex, but he needed to stop to briefly ponder the useless little thing. 

____

The pathetic training leash.

____

His ritual knife is in his hand one moment, and his wrist is finally free of the damned thing the next. He'd cut a little too close to the skin, though, and now he was bleeding quite a bit.

____

The wound pulsed strangely. The tingling sensation that he's come to know as 'pain' swept over him- hot and fresh and exhilarating. 

____

_That is not normal_ , the last few shreds of his sanity tried to reason. _Liking pain is not normal. You are a freak, and you need to put the knife down._

____

A flash of defiance burned across his skin, causing his vision to white out momentarily. The tip of the blade raked across the rest of the length of his arm in retaliation of himself.

____

He's a criminal. An outlaw. A fugitive. He doesn't listen to rules, and **certainly** not to himself. Not to common sense, even.

____

Blood dripped onto the floor in copious amounts. That should have been beyond worrying. To any normal, rational person, all of his previous actions were beyond worrying and more than enough proof to admit him to a mental asylum. Unfortunately for those people, however, he can say that he's already **been** to an asylum or two.

____

They don't treat their 'patients' well, and he has no intentions of going back to one anytime soon.

____

Daniel continued on his way out of one of the doors. He didn't care to think about which one he'd used. Doors are doors.

____

What a turn of events, eh? Max came home unexpectedly after getting himself roughed up, he got himself admitted to the hospital, and now Daniel will likely be next in line for a stay. It all works out, huh? Life is funny that way. Life is funny in the way that it takes everything you've come to know and expect, grabs it by the front of its shirt, and sends conflicting confusing messages to you while you're just grasping at straws trying to make sense of it all.

____

He doesn't know what to think- or even what to think _about._ He doesn't _want_ to think right now. He'll save thinking for the morning. He'll save thinking for when he needs to confront David again and contact Gwen and get everyone caught up to pace.

____

So many decisions made in so little time with only a portion of his brain working as it should... Bad idea? Yeah, probably. All of his ideas are bad ideas, though. He's _Daniel_ so he's automatically a terrible awful no-good person by default, right?!

____

Right. Absolutely. Of course. Of _course._

____

God, maybe he needs professional help... Or an intervention of some sort. Wishful thinking, he knows, but still. Maybe he'd see about actually trying to get himself some after this whole Max fiasco is said and done. He'd wait to see how the cards fell.

____

For the moment, though... He was satisfied with his decisions. He knew his 'sober' self would kick his ass later for being such an overzealous moron, but that wasn't his problem right now.

____

He'd save the repercussions for his future-self.

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which David and Daniel have their own breakdowns, and I act like I know how to write hospital scenes. 
> 
> And with this chapter, Act 1 is _over!_ Thank you so much for sticking around for the first part of this rollercoaster of a fic. There will be a brief intermission while I refine the story and get things written for Act 2. Chapter 6 is where all of the fun starts, so stay tuned, my friends! Let me know what you think of the story so far in the comments below!


	6. Act 2: Partners in Crime (Fighting)

Neil stared down at the crudely drawn 'map' before him; eyes burning with pure exhaustion. He's been going over it again, and again, and again, and _again_. The results are always the same, and though logically he knows that repeatedly skimming the notes written on the sides of the paper wouldn't yield a change, he kept doing it. 

He's hit a dead end in the very finite list of leads at long last. Though he knew it was inevitable, he was losing his mind over it regardless. 

Max's case doesn't make sense... 

Max's case doesn't make **SENSE!**

If he went to the fucking party like he _said_ he was going to (and he had SEVERAL eye-witnesses to say he DID), then he **should** have gotten noticed by Thompson and his lackeys at SOME point; which he DID (again, refer to the eye-witnesses).  
From there, it's simple. It should be simple. Thompson and his asshole buddies were assholes. They fucked around with him for their own amusement, then dumped him off somewhere for shits and giggles. 

That's what happened. That HAS to be what happened. Unfortunately, there was just _one_ little detail that was destroying his hypothesis entirely, and it had him seeing red. 

Yes, Max got the shit beat out of him. Yes, Thompson and whoever else was responsible. Yes, they fucked around with him because they could. But as awful as Max's old 'friends' can be, he knows one thing for absolute _certain._

They fucked around with him, but not **sexually.** They're stereotypical _bullies_ , not _RAPISTS!_ HELL, they wouldn't even go so far as to lock the guy up in some basement or wherever the fuck he was for weeks on end! No one from their school, not even those douchebags, were awful enough to be that cruel. 

But they **had** to have done it... Nothing else makes _sense._ He and Nikki had asked around town more times than he could be bothered to count. They'd been scouring the streets long before Max even turned up in the first place. 

The first few couple of days after the party, Neil had started to get worried. Not worried _enough_ to begin to take the situation seriously, but enough to find himself thinking about it more than once a day. The week after the party was where he started to panic. 

It's been a little over three weeks now, and he's beyond fucking furious. At a loss. Grasping at straws. Now more than ever. 

With the news of Max being in the hospital and, well, _a goddamn rape victim_ , he pushed himself into overdrive. He checked and re-checked every theory. He reconsidered previously gathered information. He pitched idea after idea to Nikki and to himself out of lack of anything else _better_ to do.

He'd been given the news a little over two days ago, now. Those past two days were spent coming up with theory after theory- hypothesis after hypothesis. Possible culprit after possible culprit.  
The memory of seeing Max in that hospital bed, exhausted and clearly beaten to hell, kept him going. It left a sharp stinging sensation in his chest that turned into a pricking sensation in his eyes if he let himself dwell on it for too long. 

'What if Thompson hired some jerks from the rival school to beat up Max, and they went too far with it?' 'What if Thompson and his fucking goons **are** terrible enough to stoop that low?' 'What if Max got himself into something _deeper_ than just revenge gone wrong?' 

Neil rapped his knuckles on the edge of the table, wracking his brain for answers. _Logical_ answers. As always, he has an endless supply of ideas, but a _working_ one? Haha- no. 

The police had looked into the possibility of Thom and his cretins being involved in Max's case, and they were supposedly investigated. Nothing came of it, of course, because when **he** and Nikki went to investigate themselves, that little fucker was clearly _lying!_

About what _exactly_ , he couldn't piece together since his story checked out. 'Me and the guys caught up with Max for a bit before I walked the guy home. He didn't want me walking him all the way to the complex, though, so I let him go about halfway there. That's all I know, I swear.' 

Yeeahhh, fucking _right._ As if he's seriously supposed to believe that bullshit. Who ELSE would have kicked the shit out of Max and potentially kept him fucking prisoner for weeks just because they _could?!_ Who ELSE would have a real **motive** to?! 

Steven?? Maybe, but that just brings him right back to square one. Steven and Lindsey had already been questioned- HELL, _everyone_ who said they'd been at the party had been questioned. Nothing is adding up. Nothing is making sense. 

Neil let out a loud groan, running his hands through his hair and faceplanting as roughly as possible onto the table in front of him. It hurt. He wanted it to hurt. Maybe the pain would make something obvious _obvious_ and he'd finally have a break in this case. 

Unfortunately, he received no such luck. All he ended up getting was a splitting headache and pain of the unhelpful variety. 

He's gonna lose it...

"Neil?" Nikki called from upstairs. The door leading down to the basement opened, a bit of light flooding through into the lightly illuminated room. "Neil, you down there?? I got the donuts!" 

" _Close the door on your way down,_ " he replied, voice muffled as he adamantly refused to move himself from his hunched over position. 

The stairs creaked as Nikki made her way down. The soft 'click' of the door going shut once more was followed by the dark calm returning to the room. The dark calm that was, of course, interrupted with the much too loud _'thump'_ of the box of donuts right in front of him. 

Startled, Neil jumped and jerked his head up, unintentionally sending a hateful stare Nikki's way. She'd _somehow_ thought it'd be a good idea to place the donuts right on top of the map he'd been looking over. Normally he wouldn't have minded it as much, but he just- he couldn't deal right now. He really couldn't. 

Opening his mouth to make a snide remark, he paused as he actually took the time to look his friend over. 

Nikki's breathing was a little ragged, and her frizzy hair was even frizzier than ever. Even in the dim lighting, the soft blue of the nearby computer screen helped his eyes to better see the dark browns in the ocean of bright green curls.  
She had her hands on her hips, eyes bright and smile wide. He also noticed that her signature denim jacket, which she'd been wearing when she came over earlier in the morning, was gone. 

"Nikki," he began. She tilted her head to the side like a confused dog. "What did you do..?" 

"Whadd'ya mean? I went to the store and got us some donuts." 

" _Nikki. WHAT. Did you DO._ " 

"Is it suddenly a crime to stop on the way and roll in some dirt??" 

"Oh my god, don't tell me you tracked that shit in here again." 

"I took off my boots before I stepped in the grass for that _exact_ reason." 

"Fine. I'll give you that one. Where's your jacket, though?" 

"Oh, a dog I was wrestling stole it." 

Neil facepalmed, lowering his head and sighing through his teeth. Okay... He can do this... Just your typical weird Nikki bullshit... Nothing to freak out over. 

"Terry from accounting said that he'd return it to my mom later and tell her what an awful brat I am." 

nOPE. NO. HE CANNOT HANDLE THIS.

" _You WRESTLED Terry's DOG?! The SAME Terry whose dog you CHOKED OUT?!_ " 

"Yep!" Nikki's tone was sweet and her smile was award-winning, but her face was so very punchable.

" _I thought he got a restraining order on you!_ " 

"I did, too! On my way back to your place, though, I ran into him and his dog attacked me. Sooooo _not_ my fault this time around! That guy got what was coming to him!" 

"Nikki, just.. just stop.." His headache has suddenly gotten ten times worse. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have sent Nikki off alone like that. He wasn't thinking straight, though. Holing yourself up in your basement and obsessing over something that you should really just leave to the police can't be good for anyone. 

But this is **Max.** Like _hell_ is he just going to sit back and do _nothing_ while his best friend is in the hospital because of some fucking sickos. 

Yeah, okay, he's still pretty damn pissed at the guy, but grudges be damned at this point... He could yell at Max once he knew his friend was going to be okay. 

While Neil wallowed in his own self misery, Nikki reached over and slid the box of donuts off of the map. Squinting her eyes that honestly seemed to _glow_ in the dark (he's learned by now to not question Nikki unless he wants to tear his own hair out again), she inspected the rough outline of their neighborhood for a good couple of moments. 

Pursing her lips, she cocked her hip to the side and reached a hand into her maze of hair. Pulling it back out, she somehow acquired a pencil and didn't hesitate to begin adding something to their 'blueprints' of sorts. 

Neil watched this all through the spaces between his fingers, unwilling to remove the hand from his face just yet. She haphazardly drew a square, a building, right beside a blank space that really didn't qualify as a blank space. Smack dab between the flower shop and some Korean restaurant he's never gone in before. 

It looked pathetic and out of place when compared to Neil's own additions- though that was only because Nikki never took her time with drawing landmarks of any kind. Neither of them were artists in any sense of the word.

"You forgot to add the coffee shop," she explained, scrawling the words 'coffee shop' on top of the building. 

"Oops." He really honestly couldn't give less of a shit right now. 

"You're usually more meticulous than that. It must be donut time, then." 

If Neil's fingernails were sharp enough, he'd drag them across his face hard enough to draw blood. 

" _No._ I'm close to something- _I just know it._ " 

Nikki frowned. "Yeah. You're close to donut time. How long have you been down here, again??" 

He didn't want to answer that. "None of your business..."

"Shut up and eat a donut." She defiantly picked up the box and let it drop back down onto the map. Neil didn't make any moves to open it. 

Nikki sighed and did it for him. The air around her had changed the same way it changes when she knows being her exuberant jeering self wasn't exactly 'welcome' at the moment. Her eyes lost a bit of their shine and her shoulders slumped a bit. 

She's tired. They're both tired.

"I don't get hungry. I get _results._ " 

"And hungry," she put in, grabbing a donut with chocolate icing and shoving it in his face. He took it with heavy reluctance. 

"No new leads?" she asked after a couple of moments of silence between them. Her eyes darted back down to the, now obscured, map. Neither of them made any moves to put the donuts somewhere else. 

"What do _you_ think?" he replied after swallowing a mouthful. He went to take another bite if only to satisfy Nikki, but he paused and couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt too sick. He felt too upset.

"I'm thinking that we need to go threaten Jeremy and see if he confesses when he doesn't have his buddies backing him up." 

Neil rolled his eyes at that. "What, you think Jeremy is a _rapist?_ " 

"I think Jeremy is many things, Neil." 

" _Nikki._ Be real for a second." 

"I am! But, y'know, just between you and me... I think Terry from accounting is acting _mighty_ suspicious..." 

"It's NOT Terry from accounting! Stop suggesting that!!" 

" _That's just what he WANTS us to think._ " 

Neil let out a sharp grunt akin to the beginnings of a scream. Luckily he was able to suppress it before he alerted his father and half of the fucking neighborhood of his incoming mental breakdown.

This **really** wasn't as much of an issue as he was making it out to be. Logically. Logically he _knew_ that even if he and Nikki didn't figure out this case, the police would surely get around to it. Eventually. 

_Eventually._ That _eventually_ is what's really driving him nuts, huh? 

That _eventually_ was the difference between life and death, here. That _eventually_ was the difference between whoever did this getting what's coming to them, and either Max or some other innocent person becoming the next victim. The next person in the newspapers and the next person in the hospital. 

That **eventually** would eat him up inside unless he did something to erase it from existence entirely. Just sitting back and visiting Max and enjoying his summer like a normal teenager wouldn't cut it, even if he _wanted_ it to. 

He's obsessing over this so no one else has to. He's working himself to the fucking bone so something like this doesn't happen again. He's making himself an invisible helping hand to avoid seeing another case like Max's, and _not_ because he- 

Neil felt himself search his pockets absently, suddenly craving the phantom feeling of Max's phone in his pocket. He knew, though, that he'd done as he'd said he would and returned it the day he found it at the park.  
He found his _own_ phone, however, and that would have to suffice. Questioning why he trailed his fingers down the smooth surface of the case wouldn't get him anywhere. 

"You complain about me getting dirt on the floor, but then you go and get _icing_ everywhere??" 

"Huh?" He looked down at once, not having realized that he had, in fact, dropped what remained of his donut onto the less-than-sterile ground. 

"Oh. Uh. Sorry?" 

"I'm just messin' with 'ya. Be as spacey as you want. You have your best ideas when you get like that." 

He couldn't argue with that logic, and quite frankly, he didn't want to. Instead, he picked up the discarded pastry and walked over to toss it in a nearby trash can. While he appreciated the effort to make sure he got _something_ in his stomach, it was a little too sugary and sweet for two in the afternoon. He might as well have woken up not even five hours ago. 

If he could even _call_ it sleep, anyway.

Wiping his fingers on his pants to get rid of the residual stickiness, he let out a sigh and forced himself to wait before turning back around. 

"I swear, if I look over my shoulder and I see you licking the chocolate off of the floor, I am going to make you stay upstairs." 

Nikki didn't give him a response. He spun around with little to no warning. Nikki scrambled up off of the floor with a guilty smile on her face, and the chocolate stains were suspiciously all but gone. 

" **Nikki.** " 

"I'm sorry, Neil- I'm a simple gal! I see chocolate, I lick it!" 

"You are _so_ fucking disgusting-" 

Nikki's antics are endearing at best, and either worrying or anxiety-inducing at worst. THIS, however, just crossed several boundaries that he didn't even want to _think_ about. His churning stomach just didn't want to handle the mental image of someone licking ANYTHING off of his dusty ass floor. 

He would have gladly grabbed Nikki by one of her overgrown pigtails and made her either go home or sit on the couch and watch TV or something while he continued to brainstorm, but his steps were halted by something he hadn't prepared for. 

Curiously (or shockingly) enough, he felt himself stiffen as something rang out across the house. Loud, high-pitched, and uncalled for.

The doorbell had gone off from somewhere above them. 

Nikki's eyebrows shot up at the same time his did. His father isn't exactly the most... _popular_ guy, and as far as he knew, neither of them were expecting any visitors. His mind jumped to Max immediately, and he quickly stamped out the irrational thought before it became an uncontrollable flame. 

Gwen came to mind next, which was much more reasonable. They often checked in with her and David to let them know the progress on their investigations. Expecting her to turn up out of the blue wouldn't be too far-fetched if not for the fact that she usually texts or calls before a visit. Both of their phones had been silent all day. 

Nikki slowly brought a finger to her lips- eyes darting to the staircase and back. Neil nodded in understanding and crept as quietly as possible towards them, straining his ears in order to hear any more commotion upstairs. Nikki followed along right behind him. 

His dad had just gotten done saying something, but unfortunately he'd been too late to quite make it out. There were footsteps- two pairs of them. The second pair was much too light to be Gwen's. She practically stomps everywhere without much regard for anything in her path. 

"He's down in his 'lab', he likes to call it. Though, I'm sure you knew that already." 

"Of course." _David..?_ "Thank you for your hospitality, Carl, and it's been a pleasure finally getting to meet you. I can take it from here." 

Neil gave a sharp intake of breath. No. No, that voice is too calm, too suave. _Too fake._ What the hell-? 

He felt Nikki grab onto his arm and attempt to yank him back as the door was opened and closed once more without a second to spare. He barely processed her actions and her intentions, though. He was far too busy pulling himself away from her and getting as **far** away from the stairs as possible. 

No. No, no, no- there's no way. There's no _way_ that freakshow is here; _why is he_ **here?!**

Shaking, Neil didn't think; he just acted. He threw himself at the table, snatching the pencil from where Nikki had last placed it and attempted to brandish it as a weapon.

It was pathetic and stupid, but it's all he has. Black boots coming into view as the man descended down to their location had his heart dropping into his stomach, though. 

_What good is a fucking pencil when he has a KNIFE?_

Daniel didn't bother with using the rest of the stairs like a normal person. He catapulted himself over the railing and landed square on his feet with a loud _'thud'._ The exact opposite of welcoming and non-threatening. 

A cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he suddenly regretted keeping the basement so dimly lit. Daniel's gaze locked on him in a way that he can only describe as predatory. It was only amplified by the shadows enveloping the psycho like an aura of evil energy. 

Evil. _Evil._ Oh how he would have scoffed at the word in literally any other scenario. Daniel may not wear white anymore, but that didn't stop him from seeing him for what the bastard truly is. 

A murderer. A mental patient. A cultist. 

_Dangerous. A threat. A threat that's in his HOUSE._

"Daniel!" Nikki exclaimed. Her tone wasn't terrified, like it _should_ be. She was... _'happy'_ to see him.

"Howdy, ya'll, what's the mood?" were the words that Daniel decided on. He had his hands in the pockets of his jeans and he looked to be chewing something. Gum?? 

What... the FUCK?!? 

Daniel watched him intently, casually and kind of obnoxiously chewing away while the tensions in the room rose. At least, _Neil's_ personal tensions were rising. Big time. 

"What're you doing here??" Nikki questioned without a single hint of fear. She was standing FAR too close to the man for his liking. "Did David send you or something?"

"Nope. I had a hunch that you two rascals would be squatting here right about now, so I decided to _drop_ by." 

Was that... a _pun..?_ Did he just make a _PUN?_

Yep. Yep, it was. He smirked and winked at Nikki and everything. He had her; hook line and sinker. Neil readied himself to race past the creep and try to make it upstairs, hopefully grabbing Nikki on the way, but Daniel's attention was back on him in an instant. He must have noticed him tense. Shit. 

"Neil, put that down!" Nikki scolded, gesturing for him to walk closer to the maniac. "Come say hi to Daniel!" 

"Did I come at a bad time?" 

" _You came at the fucking WORST time, asshole!_ " Neil spat, taking another step back despite being so close to the wall already. "The FUCK do you think you're doing here?!" 

Daniel tilted his head to the side in reply. He was still grinning. This is all probably just some sick fucking joke to him. Of course it is. Of course. Why else would he show up uninvited if he didn't plan to cause trouble? 

"H-How the hell did you know where I live?!" 

Daniel deliberated his response before shrugging. "I have my ways of getting information." 

Right. Right, not creepy at all, you fucker. "Wh-What do you want??" 

"Well, I'd be glad to discuss that with you, but I have a feeling that you won't like my response. So, kid, why don't you calm down and-" 

Neil didn't need to listen to _anything_ that creepshow had to say. If it was actually important, he would have cut to the chase by now. He's not safe down here anymore; neither of them are.  
Panicking, he didn't even realize he'd attempted to sprint past Daniel until he felt himself trip over some unforeseen obstacle. 

He stumbled forward, strong hands catching him and throwing him backwards and careening towards the table. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't be certain, but he hit another person and _not_ the hard wood, so Nikki must have tried to catch him. 

Despite her efforts, they both ended up sprawled out on the floor in a mess of limbs; Neil on top of Nikki. The room refused to stop spinning, so he couldn't exactly make out his surroundings right away. He'd lost his grip on the pencil at some point, so _all_ of his plans had been destroyed in mere seconds. 

He didn't need to know where exactly he'd landed to know that Daniel had tripped him, though. Daniel had shoved them both onto the ground. Their current predicament was 100% intentional, and they couldn't defend themselves. 

In short: _They're fucked._

"Are you gonna stay down and listen to me, now? Or do I need to get your father in here?" 

"My everything hurts," Nikki groaned beneath him, making no moves to at least try to stand up or get Neil off of herself. 

"Wh-What the _fuck_ was THAT for?!" 

Rubbing his head, Neil sat up and brought a hand to his face. His headache from before _certainly_ hadn't been helped by the previous chaos, and the fall really hadn't been much better.  
He wasn't allowed a moment's respite, however, as Daniel grabbed him by the jaw and made them lock eyes once more. Daniel wasn't smiling anymore. 

" _Forgive_ my brutality, but you sort of left me no choice, kid." His voice dripped with sarcasm. It sent a chill down Neil's spine. 

"You're looking into the case, right?" he continued without pause. Impatient. "For Max? I haven't heard any positive updates from Gwen or David, so I'm assuming you've exhausted your leads? Hit a road bump?" 

Neil reached up to try and tear Daniel's hand away from his face. The man's hold on him was much too tight for comfort. Daniel wouldn't budge, though. He had some sort of superhuman vice grip, he swore. 

"I-It's only been a few days since Max came back," he growled out despite himself. Yes, he was stumped. Yes, he needed new leads. New theories. 

Not that he'd admit any of that to Daniel. The dude could just go fuck off for all he cared. 

"I'm right, then." Dammit. "S'what I thought. You're gonna need me, then."

"Like **hell** I will-!" 

Daniel increased the pressure on his jaw. " _Listen._ " He was listening.

"You wanna help out your friend. You're hurt, you're confused, you're angry. Getting yourselves involved in the search is- it's your thing. I _get_ that, but what **you** don't seem to get is that you're just a _kid._ "

Neil opened his mouth to argue against that. Daniel yanked him forward a bit to shut him up. It worked.

"You haven't had any luck with your little 'friends', have you? Your main culprits haven't confessed to squat, have they?"

"H-How do you-"

"You don't factor me into the equation much, do you?" Daniel released him then; pushing Neil's head to the side in evident disgust. He'd been crouching, Neil realized as the man stood and grimaced in his general direction.

"Be rough with me, I'll be rough with you, got it? I'm not here to be your enemy, but you sure seem to want to see me that way."

Neil brought a hand up to his surely bruised jaw, feeling the need to move the thing back into place. He felt more sick than ever. Just being in such close proximity with a serial killing psychopath made him want to try to make another break for it.

Fortunately, movement beneath him was enough to ground him back to reality. At least for the moment. Remembering that he'd landed on poor Nikki, he carefully stood so as to not harm her any further. She got onto her knees before long, turning her head to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Or, well, the wolf, more like it.

"S-So you... wanna help us...?"

"More or less."

Nikki beat him to the obvious. "What's.. in it for _you_ , then?" 

That question had Daniel look off to something behind the both of them. He'd assumed a more 'professional' stance: Arms folded behind his back and mouth still rather than rudely chewing what was, presumably, gum. It shockingly did very little to make him seem less intimidating.

Neil walked over and offered Nikki a hand up. He wanted to stick close to her in case Daniel tried something again. Granted, he knew the only reason he was touched in the first place was because he was being uncooperative. You can never be too sure with this guy... He's a short fuse under the guise of an imperturbable saint.

"W-Well?" he pushed, being sure to hide himself halfway behind Nikki.

"Can't I just be the good samaritan helping out a couple of _friends?_ "

"Yeah, but-" He put a hand on Nikki's shoulder to stop whatever she was going to say.

"C-Cut the bullshit, _Freakshow._ W-We both know you're not-"

" **Daniel** ," he snapped. Suddenly Neil was the center of attention again, and he didn't like it. "My name. Is _Daniel._ "

Neil gulped. "R-Right.." Max had always been the one to use that 'nickname' for the guy. Judging by how often and how openly Max said it, he'd assumed it was free game. Guess not..

"D- _Daniel.._ W-We know you're not, uh.." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You're not fooling anyone. Just-"

"You two aren't the only ones who want our _buddies_ behind bars, alright?? Is that so hard to believe?" Daniel shrugged his shoulders exasperatedly to further emphasize his annoyance. Neil watched as the man absently adjusted the sleeve on his left arm. It hit him then that Daniel was wearing what looked like a grey hoodie in the middle of summer. What a freak...

"I have a _heart._ Now..." Trailing off, Daniel redirected his gaze to the table behind them.

"Is anyone gonna fill me in on what you two've got?"

Neil had a bad feeling about this. He had a **bad** fucking feeling about this. About all of it. Hell, he was _still_ having trouble processing everything that had happened. It all felt like a blur.

Having Daniel anywhere near him, let alone in his HOUSE and his LAB already had his hackles _more_ than raised. The man having the _nerve_ to trip him and throw him into Nikki just for being cautious (and for good reason) were just more reasons to disagree with the current situation.  
He could yell. He could alert his father and tell him to call the cops. HE could call the cops. Have Nikki distract the fucker or some shit and phone them and get him off their asses.

But.. on the other hand... Daniel was sort of.. _right._ They _are_ just kids. They _don't_ know what they're doing. They're at a loss for what to do at this point, and even reaching out to Gwen or David really wouldn't change that much.

Having someone like Daniel helping them could be just the thing they were looking for in order to get a break in the case. Already Neil was formulating countless hypothetical situations in which someone of Daniel's skill set could come in handy. He still heavily suspected Thompson and the others to be hiding something that happened the night of the party. Even with Nikki being present during the multiple interrogation attempts, they'd been unsuccessful in learning anything new or helpful.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he supposes. It still felt like a bad idea. A horrible idea. An idea that will undoubtedly lead to both of their deaths if they seriously agreed to letting Daniel into their plans and making him a part of their usual dynamic.

Raging a war between both sides of his brain, Neil shot a tentative glance Nikki's way. He.. regretfully knew what choice he'd made, but she had as much say in this as he did. If she felt like this was a bad call, he'd do everything in his power to get Daniel jailed and left to rot.

Even as he thought all of this, though, he already knew what he'd see in his friend's eyes. Even though she'd seen firsthand just what an asshole Daniel can be, Nikki, for whatever reason, found Daniel to be 'cool' and 'nice'. Of course she'd take his words at face value. Of course she'd be okay with this.

She'd been skeptical of his reasons behind helping them, though. Nikki may be many things, but she was not a moron, like many people liked to think. 

If he couldn't trust his own judgement, he'd trust hers.

"Well? What's your conclusion, crime fighters?"

Neil let out a long sigh through his teeth. " _Fine._ Fucking _fine._ We'll let you help out."

"Excellent. So glad you've come to your senses. I mean, not like you had much of a choice anyway, but eh."

**God** , he wants to punch this smug asshole so badly...

"You listen to **us** , though! N-No funny business, mister, y-you hear me?! I'm watching you, jackass."

Daniel smiled. "Of course. Shall we get to work, then, _partner?_ "

His voice is like hundreds of spiders crawling across his skin. He feels unclean and filthy just by talking to the man.

But he needs to do this. For Max.

"Sure thing... _'partner'._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neil: We're stuck and we need help  
> Daniel: hello  
> Neil: **NOT FROM YOU**
> 
> Welcome back, guys! The intermission was supposed to last a bit longer but hey, what can I say? I love writing for this story. However, with Act 2 starting, sadly so is school for many people- myself included. The chapters from here on out may take longer than usual to be finished, and I can no longer really schedule these sorts of things. They'll come out when they come out from now on, so sorry for any inconveniences that may cause some people!


	7. Act 2: First Day on the Job

"Okay, okay- uhhh... What's your favorite color- WAIT NO! _What's your favorite type of food?!_ " 

"Um.. _Edible?_ " 

" _Oh my gosh, me too._ " 

"Nikki," Neil irritably interrupted. "Could you _please_ stop asking Daniel a random question every five seconds? It's already getting on my nerves."

"Are you kidding?!" she nearly shouted back, refusing to halt her giddy skipping alongside the former cultist. ~~Emphasis on 'former'.~~ "WHEN do we ever get to spend time with **DANIEL?!** Now is the PERFECT time to ask him questions!!" 

"Or, you could, I don't know- _stop by David's apartment?_ It's not like he _lives_ there or anything." 

"Please don't actually do that," Daniel mumbled. Nikki heard it but also refused to acknowledge it.

"That's not as EXCITING! _Ugh,_ you don't get it- nevermind. Go be boring, 'ya buzzkill." 

They'd left Neil's house about ten minutes ago or something. She honestly hadn't been keeping track of the time, and had barely been listening to their discussions down in the basement.  
Once Neil finally agreed to let Daniel in on their investigations, it didn't take long at all for the both of them to start arguing. 

Well, _Neil_ was the one to keep antagonizing Daniel and pretty much discrediting anything the guy had to say or tried to pitch in. Whenever she wasn't kicking Neil in the shins and re-wording things in a _nicer_ way for Daniel's sake, she was spacing out out of boredom. 

But that doesn't mean she didn't know what they'd all agreed on, though! She's not _that_ awful at paying attention to things- duh. 

They were all currently heading to Thompson's house so they could let Daniel take a crack at interrogating him. The general consensus was that since Daniel was used to being more.. 'rough around the edges' (Neil's way of saying that he used to be a badass), he would be the perfect candidate. 

Daniel had agreed to it a little too quickly, but other than that and all of the obvious tensions between him and Neil, things were going pretty smoothly. Although, she had to admit that their plan felt more than a little redundant. Jeffrey Thompson. Been there. Done that. They might as well be scraping the bottom of the fish bowl or- or whatever analogy that makes sense. 

She didn't _disagree_ with the theory that Thompson wasn't telling the whole truth, since she knew the guy kinda personally. It just felt... _silly_ to be revisiting what should have been a dropped suspect a while ago. On the other hand, though, she was **NOT** about to miss ANY opportunity to see Daniel in action, so she hadn't openly said any of this.

So now here they were: Taking a shortcut through the park to get to Thom's place for hopefully the last time. 

"Y'know," Daniel spoke up after a couple more moments of Nikki deliberating her next question. "I'm a little surprised." 

"Hm?" 

"I wouldn't have expected you to be so.. _chipper_ at the moment, given the circumstances.." 

"That's just Nikki," Neil chimed in. "Get used to it, man." 

"Eh. He's right." She shrugged, not really feeling the need to elaborate on it any further. The phrase 'that's just Nikki' or 'it's just a Nikki thing' always just _felt_ right regardless of the context. 

In reality, though, she wasn't nearly as 'chipper' as she seemed. Not really. She was upset. Heck, if and _when_ they catch the person responsible for landing Max in the hospital, she's going to tear them limb from limb wolf style.  
But at the same time, focusing on the bad stuff all the time doesn't really get you anywhere, and it bums everyone around you out. It's better to save the energy for when you'll need it, so yeah. A shrug would suffice. 

"But OH! Oh, I got another question!! Daniel, what was your cult like??" 

"My.. _cult..?_ " 

"Yeah! Y'know?? Where you're from? The whole reason you almost killed us-" 

" _NIKKI!_ " Neil spat, reaching over and slapping a hand over her mouth to silence her. "Not so _loud!_ Do you _want_ everyone to know who we're walking around with?!" 

Nikki paused in her skipping, standing in place so she could take a proper look at her surroundings. It was a pretty warm day with a clear sky. Obviously people would be out and about if they didn't have anything better to do, like work or taxes.  
But still, the only people that she really saw were too far away from them to overhear anything. And it wasn't like they were talking all that loudly. She wasn't a moron. 

She watched a couple of people toss a Frisbee around in the distance for a little bit, eyes bouncing back and forth to trail the yellow disk. 

"Relax," Daniel replied for her. "She isn't doing any harm- let her be." 

" _'Not doing any harm'?!_ " 

"That's what I said. Now lay off." 

Neil had removed his hand from her face almost as quickly as he'd done it. Didn't make anything better, though. 

"Look, _'buddy'_ , you can just mind your own goddamn business-" 

"It _is_ my business when you're being unreasonable-" 

"It's called 'giving a shit'! Maybe you should try it sometime-!" 

Oh no, not again. Anything but this again. She could feel her good mood souring faster than milk left out in 90 degree weather. 

Panicking, Nikki kicked Neil in the shin for about the twentieth time that day, figuring that since it worked in the past that it'd work now. It did. Neil swore and jerked back- immediately bringing his knee up to grab onto it. He turned his head to glare at her, but she already had one prepared for him. 

"Knock if off, would 'ya?! Quit being so rude to Daniel! He didn't even _do_ anything yet!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Daniel said with some warmth. She smiled momentarily as he reached over and gave her a few pats on the head. 

" _HEY!_ Hands to yourself, asshole!" And now the smile is gone for sure. Thanks, Neil. 

"Words to yourself, Neil! Make up your mind already, seriously! Is Daniel working with us or not?!" 

That seemed to have Neil pausing. He raised a finger to angrily tell her off or correct her, but he said nothing at first. Clearly struggling with his words while trying to find a way past her logic, he eventually just shook his head and resumed glaring at her. 

"Of _course_ he is, but he needs to quit being such a smartass! And _you_ need to stop- stop PESTERING him so much! It's obvious he doesn't wanna talk about shit, and I don't wanna hear about it either, so-" 

"Oh," Daniel interrupted with a cruel smile. "In _that_ case, did you know that we had a holiday where children were encouraged to gut a goat while it was still alive and drink its blood for good luck-?" 

" _You are VILE-_ " 

" _That is AWESOME-!_ " 

Neil jabbed a finger in Daniel's direction. " _Not another fucking word, funnyman._ " 

"Or what? You'll lecture me again? Oh gosh, I'm so intimidated by the eighty pound child who tried to threaten me with a _pencil-_ " 

"You fucking came out of NOWHERE and I was underprepared! Shut up! A-And besides, no one even fucking _invited_ you! You can't just walk up to my front door and be like 'oh yeah hi Neil called me over'- NO I FUCKING DIDN'T-" 

"Wow. For someone who didn't want to make a scene, you sure are doing a great job of keeping it on the down low. Great job. Gotta applaud 'ya." 

" _Oh fuck off-_ " 

"Also, it's not my fault that your father was gullible enough to believe me. I honestly was prepared to distract him so I could go looking around for you two. I'm not psychic- I wasn't sure if you'd even be home." 

Nikki had gotten in between the both of them at some point during their 'argument'- keeping them both apart in case either of them tried to pull anything. She didn't really suspect Daniel of hurting either of them, but she sadly couldn't say the same for Neil. 

Every time she tried to open her mouth to just get them both to SHUT UP, they just acted like she didn't exist altogether. Glancing over her shoulder as Neil said something she didn't catch, she attempted to eye the few people she'd seen nearby. 

Low and behold, the group that had been tossing the Frisbee around were sneaking confused looks in their direction every now and then. She hadn't needed to look for longer than a couple seconds to know that they were being too loud. And even if their words weren't being heard, two people yelling at each other isn't exactly all that hard to discern from body language alone. 

Great. She's stuck being the mature one here, isn't she. 

"-and it's not _my_ fault that you're a sadistic cultist fuck!" 

"Guys," she warned. 

"Nor is it mine! Would you just give it a rest already-" 

"Guys," she tried again. 

"Oh, yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You just want us to be fucking brain-dead and subservient so you can make us drink your fucking rat poison Kool-Aid, right?? Go fuck yourself." 

Real, actual anger flashed across Daniel's face. Uh oh. 

" _Guys-_ " 

" _What.. did you just say to me..?_ " 

"You fucking heard me, **Freakshow-** " 

Nikki reared back and slapped Neil across the face as hard as she could. 

He staggered back with a surprised yelp- a hand being drawn to his face on instinct. It was a start to setting things straight, but she wasn't satisfied with her work just yet. She turned her head to look up at Daniel. 

"Be. Nice." 

Daniel looked taken back, blinking roughly a few times. "Yes, Ma'am." 

She turned back around to Neil. 

" **Stop being a jerk.** " 

Neil gave her a bitter glance, still rubbing his cheek. "He fucking started it..." 

"EHT!" Nikki held up a finger of her own, eyebrows raising as she shook it emphatically. "Bad Neil! _Baaaad Neil!_ " 

Daniel snorted behind her. She returned her attention to him. The expression on her face was enough to have him take a step back and raise his hands apologetically. He was still visibly trying not to laugh, but the unexpected rush of joy at getting him to comply made her want to excuse it. So she did. _For now._

Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her phone to check the time real quick. It was going on four. They should've been at Thompson's place by now.  
She didn't really have any plans for the rest of the day, and she honestly didn't mind the hold up all that much. She just didn't want their time window of Thom being home alone to slip them by. 

If his parents were still their same old busy selves, they wouldn't be home until around five-ish or something. Of course, like Daniel had said (kind of), none of them are psychic. There's no guarantee that Thompson is even gonna _be_ at his place. 

Yet another reason to be skeptical of their plan. None of them had any better ideas, though, so she pocketed her phone with a sigh and crossed her arms. 

"Come on, you guys. We're burning daylight."

She made sure to maintain eye contact with Daniel as she raised a finger and pointed it at him. 

"We **will** get back to the questions later. You pretty much owe me now."

Daniel chuckled to himself, pivoting around abruptly to continue walking down the trail. "Whatever floats your boat, sweetie." 

Nodding affirmatively, Nikki stayed behind for a second or two to make sure Neil got with the program and planned to stick with it. Thankfully, he had and he did. She didn't even need to say anything before he was racing past her to catch up to Daniel. 

She didn't miss the mini glare he threw her way. She also didn't care about it. 

_It's gonna be a long day, isn't it_ , she thought to herself as she sighed through her teeth. She felt herself deflate as she speed walked to keep pace with the both of them. A pounding headache was coming on, she could feel it.

If those two could stop trying to bite each other's necks off for a good five minutes, that'd be dandy. Of course, that's hoping for a little too much, right?? They can't _possibly_ expect to work together to unravel this mystery- oh no no no!! 

_Perish._

For better or worse, Nikki's intervention seemed to have done the trick. Neil stopped insulting Daniel. Daniel stopped making rude quips. She was almost afraid to open her mouth in case the silence itself was a ticking bomb and she was the catalyst.  
She could settle for peace and quiet. Even if it was an awkward stiff kind of quiet where you know that the people around you hate each other and would sell the other to Satan for one corn chip without any hesitation whatsoever. 

It made her kinda wistful, actually. She could say that she was pretty familiar with this atmosphere. Of course, whenever it occurred it was rare and always _always_ temporary.  
Max and Neil got into their own spats every now and then. They'd started happening much more often a couple weeks before school ended. 

She felt herself shudder a bit at a resurfacing memory, angry arm-crossing turning into pitiful self-hugging. Though she knew keeping her head out of the clouds and focusing on Neil and Daniel was a pretty good idea, Nikki just couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu.

She couldn't get that particular afternoon out of her head.

 

 _It had been later into the evening- maybe about six or seven o'clock or so. The sky was a pretty pale shade of blue with golden orange clouds outlining the horizon. Nikki could feel a cooler breeze begin to pick up and rustle the trees around her; blowing her hair back and offering some minor relief from the returning summer heat._

_She had smiled, then. She smiled like she smiles every day. The act hadn't been nearly as constricting back then. It didn't feel like she was lying to herself or anyone else. Being out in nature had been enough to soothe whatever happened to ail her that particular day, and all was well._

_Oh, how she wished that that was still true. Heck, if she could go back and repeat that afternoon altogether, she would do it if only just so she could be this carefree again. To feel the way the grass tickled her legs and hear the sounds of birds singing and dogs barking off in the distance._

_She was where she belonged, and everything was good._

_"Yeah, well, SORRY for missing out on your stupid campaign. I was a little BUSY that night. Lay off."_

_Her vision flashed with white. Her smile pulled down into a firm frown. A grimace._

_"I wouldn't care as much if you'd said something sooner, Max! If you're busy, you're busy. Nerris can work the campaign around without you just fine. You just can't ditch out of the blue for some bullshit reason, though."_

_"It wasn't a 'bullshit reason'!" Max snapped back. "Christ, you're yelling at me for nothing! I apologized, so just get off my back already..!"_

_"You never used to just ditch D &D, Max. It's OUR thing! I think you can excuse me getting just a LITTLE bit upset with you for blowing off your friends to 'do homework'."_

_"Homework's important!"_

_"Yeah, but since when do you care about it?! I can see a bullshit excuse from a mile away, Max- you don't have to keep lying about it-"_

_Please stop..._

_"I'm not lying about anything! MAYBE I just wanted to chill that night! MAYBE I'd been skipping doing my homework and I needed to catch up last minute! I don't owe you an explanation every time I change plans!"_

_"No, but an explanation would be NICE! It's.. It's not really like you-"_

_"Oh, and you would know, huh?"_

_Stop arguing..._

_"Oh, what's_ **that** _supposed to mean?"_

_"Exactly what it sounds like, Neil. Exactly what it fuckin' sounds like. Y'know, I'm getting kinda sick of you needing to know what I'm doing and where the fuck I am all the time-"_

_"I don't fucking STALK you, Max, oh my god! Why are you making such a big deal out of this?! All I asked you was why you ignored all of us every time we tried to contact you-"_

_"MAYBE BECAUSE OF THAT! MAYBE BECAUSE I NEED YOU_ **ALL** _TO GET OFF MY FUCKING CASE FOR ONCE!"_

_Nikki sucked in a sharp breath. Another flash of white. A pain found its way into her chest._

_She couldn't hear the birds anymore. The dogs stopped barking. Neil and Max weren't saying anything to each other for the longest time._  
_She hadn't realized that she had her eyes closed until she opened them again. Opening her eyes had been a mistake._

_It had been just a couple more weeks before school let out. They'd all wanted to hang out at the park together, like they do sometimes on the nicer days. It was just supposed to be a lazy afternoon. The three of them. They were supposed to have a nice time and not start some sort of altercation for once._  
_Max wasn't supposed to get upset. He wasn't supposed to yell like that._

_He wasn't supposed to storm off in frustration._

_But he did. Nikki hadn't been watching the bitter banter, but she'd seen Max race past her with seldom a glance or word. She hadn't even been involved whatsoever in the petty dispute, and yet she couldn't stop the alarming choked up noises she was making._

_She should have been. She should have gotten involved. It had just been too much- it had just been too overwhelming at the time. How was she even supposed to react?? What could she have said?_

_That had been the first instance of Max getting fed up with being around them like that that she could recall. She also remembered not seeing him again for a few days after. He'd made her think that she'd somehow died and become a ghost by the way that he breezed past her in the hallways and during lunch._

_Not in the literal sense, of course, but with how much pain she'd been in when she saw her two best friends tearing each other apart, she'd been willing to believe it. She'd been willing to believe she'd died if it meant that she wasn't being rejected for something that she couldn't name._

_Death she can deal with. Rejection.. Not again. Never again._

_She never wants to feel the way she had when she was younger. She never wanted to feel the way she had at the park. She never wanted to have Neil console her as she cried over something she wasn't responsible for._

_She never wants to just sit back and let something like that happen again._

 

"What the hell are you doing, now?" Neil asked in a tired breath.

Nikki opened her eyes without realizing she'd closed them. Good thing, too, because she'd been just about to bump into him. 

They'd stopped by some trash bins in the center of the park. Or, well, Daniel had stopped. He was holding something over one of them and giving Neil a confused look. 

"Throwing this gum away..?" 

"Why?"

"Because I don't like it. I'd never had gum before and thought I'd try it, but it's too sweet. Happy?" 

Neil's face twisted into disgust. "What?? Dude, that's spearmint. How the hell is spearmint _'too sweet'_ for you??" 

"I don't know. Ask my taste buds, wise guy. Glad to know you care so much about me throwing away garbage." 

"Hey," Nikki spoke up uneasily. Daniel and Neil froze at once, glancing at her as if they had just now remembered she existed. 

She extended her hand, quickly gesturing for Daniel to hand over the unwanted package. 

"Gimme that." 

"Nik, no," Neil began. Daniel shrugged and reached past him to comply with her demand. 

"Go nuts, kiddo." 

"I plan to." Unblinking, she didn't wait to begin tearing out every single piece of gum in sight. Unwrapping them wasn't necessary.  
As soon as she made sure that she'd emptied the package, she tossed it over Neil's head without much of a care. It landed in the bin at the same time she shoved every last foil covered piece of sugary goodness in her mouth. 

Neil's disgust immediately amped up- going well into outright revulsion at this point. Daniel openly stared at her, mouth slightly agape as if he wasn't sure of what he just witnessed. 

She doesn't care. She needs this. **Fuck** she needs this. Neil and Max have their coffee when they get too exhausted with life to function. Nikki has her unwrapped gum. 

"I... I-I didn't." Daniel tilted his head to the side, brows furrowing in extreme concern. "I-I didn't mean literally, Nikki..." 

She gave him a thumbs up. 

"It's best if you don't question it, man," Neil tried to semi-comfort. Likely to just get Daniel's head back in the game.

It didn't work. " _I-I think we should call a doctor. That can't be healthy._ " 

"No, she'll be fine." 

"B-But-" 

"We're still burnin' daylight, ya'll," she mumbled through the mouthful. "Let's get a mosey on." 

Daniel leaned down and whispered not-so-quietly to Neil. " _Why is she a cowboy, now..?!_ " 

Neil looks dead inside at this point. That's about how she feels, too. 

" _Yeeeeehaaaaaawww_ ," she drawled unenthusiastically, shoving her way past them in order to continue on her way and get the interrogation over with. Daniel has some filthy liar to slice into ribbons. Metaphorically. 

Yeehaw, indeed. 

______________________________________________________

"So, run this by me again. Why, exactly, do we think this kid's gonna open up and be honest with _me_ over law enforcement?" 

"We don't," Neil replied honestly. 

"This plan kinda sucks," Nikki admitted for the first time that day, chewing thoughtfully on her gum wad. "But you get to be scary and awesome, so there's that." 

Unsurprisingly, that didn't do a very good job at swaying Daniel back to their side. He narrowed his eyes at the two of them and crossed his arms. 

Neil rolled his eyes. "Look. Do _you_ have any better ideas?? He's the best lead we've got! If **you** can't get something out of him, then we might as well just give up here. And that doesn't just count for Thom. Thom and all of his buddies fall under the category." 

"Yeah! And besides, if you agreed that this wasn't such a great idea, then why didn't you say anything sooner?" Nikki put in. "You kinda made it sound like you had some sorta trick up your sleeve or something back there, honestly." 

"What?" 

"Y'know, with your whole," she paused to put her hands into the pockets of her shorts and put on a dull emotionless expression, "'Yes. Of course I will do this. I love nothing more than to threaten teenagers for the greater good'." 

"Spot on impression," Neil complimented with a few snickers. Daniel didn't seem to appreciate it in the slightest, as his frown deepened. It had genuinely bothered him. 

"Okay. Two things. One: I do not sound like that. Two: I never said any of those things. I didn't really bring it up because I knew Neil wouldn't listen to me-"

"Valid assumption," Neil agreed.

"-and I can understand desperation and a lack of leads. Regardless of that, I still think we should consider a back up plan that isn't 'give up'." 

Nikki put a hand to her chin, considering Daniel's words. They might be words that she's said to herself more than once before, albeit in a different way, but they were still worth considering. She exchanged a glance with Neil. He was thinking the same thing. Maybe the timing of the topic wasn't the best, considering they were just a turn around the street corner away from Thom's place. The timing didn't have to be, though. 

Nothing about anything they've really done so far to try and figure out Max's case has been the best, actually. Going up to their classmates and passive aggressively accusing them of kidnapping and beating up Max hadn't been the best idea. Questioning random strangers certainly could have been thought over a second time before they did it. Acting like little crime scene investigators while using the general neighborhood as their crime scene was borderline moronic. 

Heck, she even felt more than a little ridiculous for calling over her bird friends and asking them if they'd seen anything incriminating or helpful to their cause. Not because they weren't a reliable source or anything, but because she's not a police officer. 

Nikki grimaced a bit as she remembered when they'd asked Harrison and Nerris if they had any magic spells to look into the past so they could observe the events of the party themselves. It ended with Nerris summoning some sort of.. weird flying eyeball thing that Harrison ended up killing by accident. 

There had been a lot of screaming involved. Mostly from Neil, who she's pretty sure refuses to ever speak of the incident ever again for obvious reasons. 

They really had tried everything, huh? Then at this point, what's the real harm of going back to square one? 

Nikki shrugged sadly. Neil glared at the ground. 

Daniel had leaned himself up against the fence post, idly tapping his arm as he stared out onto the fairly quiet street. Thinking, most likely. He had that kind of look in his eyes.  
She noticed that he occasionally fiddled with the sleeve of his hoodie and seemed to toy around with something on his left wrist. 

She'd never been able to get a good look at what exactly it was, but it was bracelet-shaped, and that was good enough of an answer for her. He just fidgets a lot in general. It's distracting sometimes. In the good way. It's like a cool mysterious tic.

"We'll work on that later, I guess," he muttered after some silence had passed them by. "Should focus on the task at hand at the moment, huh?" 

"Yeah." Neil seemed contemplative still. Not entirely there. 

"Welp." Daniel pushed himself away from the fence with a deep sigh. "Jeffrey Thompson. Seventeen. Sporty- athletic." He adjusted the ends of his hoodie sleeves. "From what I've heard: Quite a little troublemaker." 

He turned his head to look at the both of them. "Three words, describe him. Neil?" 

"Uh-" Neil blanched, not having expected the sudden demand. "Um- Physically, or-" 

"Personality. Give me the gist." 

Nikki opened her mouth to reply for Neil. Already a handful of particular adjectives were coming to mind. However, Daniel held up a hand to halt her without removing his attention from Neil.

"In a moment." 

Nikki frowned at that, but she complied. 

"H-He's uh.. He's kinda baby lamb-ish..? Uh- he's an asshole, but like, in the way that he seems like a nice guy. If that.. makes sense.. Probably not-" 

"Good enough. Nikki?" 

"Subservient! she shouted at once. "Foolhardy! Uh, um- CONNIVING!" She hopped up and down on the tips of her toes, searching for the exact words that just didn't seem to want to come. 

Both Daniel and Neil were giving her odd looks, though, so she tried her best to stay still and resort to shaking her hands up and down as she rooted around in the deepest recesses of her brain. 

" **Impertinent.** " 

"Okay," Neil started. He paused, but ended up shaking his head before continuing. "I know I shouldn't be surprised by your vocabulary at this point, but _remind me_ again how and why you have a seemingly endless dictionary in your head?" 

"I don't have a dictionary in my head. I just know basic descriptive words because I'm not a loser. Unlike someone I know who had to ask me that question." 

Daniel snorted at that. "Burn." 

Neil threw a glare his way, opening his mouth to make a crude retort. Nikki slapped a hand over his mouth. "Only the sickest for my friend." 

"Nikki, sweetheart, you are a gift." 

"Awww... I know I am, but _aaawwww..._ " 

Neil struggled to get her hand off of his face. She hadn't really put any effort in keeping it there at first, but when she felt his prying hands, she grinned deviously and pressed her palm to his face. Soon enough Neil's hand was on _her_ face, trying to push her away so she lost her balance. 

She wouldn't be bested like that. Laughing, she removed her hand from his face for a second so she could properly duck down and get behind him. Arms were wrapped around Neil without any mercy- the same hand being returned to its rightful place. 

" _NIKKI-_ " 

"Sorry, can't hear you! Wanna try again?? Wanna- Wanna try again, Neil? Wanna-" Neil kept struggling against her, so she kept having to move and adjust her stance to stay in control. 

No way was Neil going to drag the good mood down. If she had to literally wrestle with him every time he tried to be a jerk, she'd do it. Not that that was much of an issue, of course. Neil may have a couple inches on her, but he's built like a twig. 

" _NIKKI GET OFF-_ "

"Make me! _Make me, Neil, make me._ "

Grinning wider than she has in a while, Nikki let out an elated gasp as Neil jerked his head forward and her fingers slipped from his face. He grabbed onto her wrist as she tried to get her hand back to where it was, pushing her backwards and elbowing her in the stomach. 

Nikki stumbled but managed to catch herself on the fence to her left. The giggles poured out of her without restraint as her heart raced and her chest swelled with fresh satisfaction. She'd completed her job and eased the tensions on top of helping to avoid another fight. If Neil wanted to yell at someone, he'd yell at her now. 

She was laughing so much, however, that she had all but forgotten about her precious gum still in her mouth. How she hadn't accidentally spitten it out by now was beyond her, but she was reminded of the amalgamation of gum and wrappers as it got lodged in her throat. 

Karma. Hot and sweet. The anguished sounds of gagging and coughing replaced her prior joy; followed quickly by her hacking out the glorious monstrosity. It fell into the grass. A perfect offering for any nearby hungry ants. 

She was sad at her lack of gum, but at least it would be going to good use. And she didn't choke and die. Everybody wins. 

Panting as she came down from the excitement high, Nikki snuck a glance at Daniel. He'd stood aside while she had her fun and also almost croaked, so she hadn't been paying all that much attention to him. He turned away from them as soon as she looked, so knowing how he felt about the mini setback was near impossible. 

She could have sworn that she saw a smile on his face, though. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. 

Neil turned on her to dish out his typical 'Nikki, never do that again's and 'you're the worst's. She didn't listen to a single word. All of her attention was back on Daniel. 

"Yeah yeah, that's nice," she murmured, putting a hand back onto Neil's face lazily as she walked past him. Daniel rounded the corner while Neil was distracted, and so she followed suit. 

A familiar black boot was the first thing she took notice of; vanishing as quickly as it came as Daniel entered a walkway just out of view. Thompson's walkway leading to his house. 

Game on, then. 

"Nikki, what the hell are you-"

" _Shut up, it's starting!_ " she harshly whispered, not looking at all as she grabbed onto her friend's shirt and launched herself down the sidewalk. 

This is it. The moment of truth. The major block in their path to a breakthrough in Max's case was _so_ so close to being referred to the in the past tense. What was once a fearsome dragon halting their progress would now be slain by the valiant knight. ~~The valiant knight that used to be the wicked villain, so that's even cooler. Bonus points.~~

Nearly bursting with her excitement, Nikki dived towards a tree in Thompson's yard, hoping to hide behind it while Daniel worked his magic. She hadn't stopped to consider the fact that she was still holding onto Neil, though, so he ended up slamming into the tree rather than falling beside her behind it. 

She winced, reaching a hand out to her friend to apologize. Neil waved her off, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead as he took his place with her. They didn't say a word to each other. As soon as they were both situated in their shared position, all of their attention was back on the plan. 

Their eyes followed Daniel's every movement as he casually strolled up to Thompson's front door and politely rang the doorbell. Nikki hadn't seen any cars out front, and the garage was closed, so she could only hope that Thom was 1: Home. 2: Alone. 

If he was neither or only one of those things, then they were pretty much screwed for the time being. Going home to mull over their excessive failures wasn't exactly something she was keen on doing, so she crossed her fingers and prayed to a non-specific god that luck was on their side at long last. 

Seconds passed. Maybe a minute. Maybe neither. Maybe it had only been just a moment. However much time passed, it didn't pass in vain. Low and behold, that door opened, and where it once stood was none other than Jeffrey Freakin' Thompson. So far so good... 

"Uh..." Jeffrey looked Daniel up and down for a moment, clearly just more than a little confused by the complete stranger's presence before him. "Whatever it is you're selling, I don't want it, thanks."

"Good afternoon. I'm afraid I'm not advertising anything, though. I've actually come to speak with you about a matter of great importance-" 

" _Mr.Wood..??_ " Jeffrey hadn't even let Daniel finish his sentence properly before he was, again, looking the man up and down in disbelief. 

Neil froze behind Nikki, seemingly getting himself ready to get out there and save Daniel some face. Nikki held out her hand to stop him. She wanted to see where this goes.

Daniel hesitated for a moment. She couldn't see his face, but he had tilted his head to the side minutely as he mulled over his options. 

"Wh- Uh... What's with the uh- the contacts and the... blonde... hair..?" 

"Oh, well," Daniel's voice barely noticeably went up a pitch, "I just figured I needed a change of pace. It's good to shake it up every once in a while." 

Jeffrey looked very uncomfortable. "Uh.... huh...." 

A beat of silence. 

"S-So... You.. You here for the thing with Max, or..?"

"Unfortunately so," Daniel replied with a couple of solemn nods. If Nikki didn't know any better, she'd say he sounded genuinely remorseful, the sly dog. 

"Are your parents home? I just want to ask a few questions to _definitively_ clear up any concerns of your involvement that night. It's... fickle. And.. now that Max is.." He paused to cough uncomfortably. 

"You're not in any trouble, Jeffrey. I just have to be thorough."

Thompson shifted his weight in the doorway, glancing off to the side. "They're uh- they're not. I uh.. God, look, I'm real sorry for what happened to him, but I've told you guys over and over that I don't know who could of done it. The _last_ time I saw him, I was walking him home. I swear to God, sir." 

Daniel nodded along sympathetically. "Gosh, I... I hate to be doing this, son, but you have to understand that this is some pretty _serious_ stuff. I don't wanna take up anymore of your time with this mess, but I just need to clear up a few inconsistencies with your story that.." 

He sighed. "They're just not sitting right with me. I'm not blaming you. I just want to know the truth. Could I come inside?" 

Nikki held her breath as Thompson, reluctantly, stepped aside and gestured for Daniel- 'David'- to enter. Daniel turned his head to smile innocently at the boy as he walked past him. 

Thom closed the door behind himself. They lost their view on both their partner and their suspect. Nikki exhaled, a Cheshire grin breaking out onto her face.

"Holy crap," Neil breathed behind her. "That fucker actually weasled his way in there." 

" _I know. This so awesome._ " 

"Now the question remains: Will this have actually been worth the time and effort?" 

"C'mon, we can't miss this hot action-" 

"Don't word it like that-"

"-we have to find a window or something." 

She felt Neil grab onto her hand before she lurched forward from her hiding place, showing that he was getting with the program. She crouched onto the ground, not wanting to risk somehow being spotted by Jeffrey from one of the front windows.  
Preferably, she wanted to be able to _hear_ them both. Being able to see Daniel's interrogation tactics wouldn't exactly be the most enjoyable if she couldn't hear anything he was saying. 

She was hoping to be able to find a window she could crack open on the side of the house. Maybe if they'd thought things through well enough, they could have given Daniel a walkie talkie or something. Or even told him to secretly record the conversation. 

... _UGH_ , why do all of the best ideas happen when they're no longer useful?! 

Shaking her head, she let Neil help her back up onto her feet as they got to one of the side windows. Calling upon that non-specific god once more, she _caaaarefully_ leaned over to peer into it. 

Thompson lived in a pretty nice house, if she was being honest. They all lived in a middle class white neighborhood with a handful of rich families in the mix, so you really didn't expect to see any dingy houses around. Thom's was no exception.  
She couldn't exactly tell you what a run-of-the-mill living room is supposed to look like, but with the oval rug and the comfy looking couches, she had to guess that was it. Heck, if she squinted, she could even see what looked like a fireplace off at the far right wall. 

Most importantly, however, she could see Daniel and Thompson. They had both just seated themselves onto separate facing couches- Thom noticeably more tense than Daniel. 

She ducked down, then, attempting to gently ease the window to go up just a smidgen. A cold sweat had started on her forehead, her nerves slowly but surely getting the best of her. If the window _did_ open but it made a loud noise in the process, it'd get noticed for sure and either be investigated further, or just closed again; dragging her back to square one. 

It was a chance she was willing to take, though. She could _not_ just stand by and settle for hearing Daniel's re-telling of the interrogation. That's just straight up torture. 

" _Caaaarefuuul_ ," Neil hissed in her ear, grabbing onto her shoulders a little too tightly. 

" _What does it look like I'm doing?!_ " she shot right back, annoyance flashing across her vision like a white hot lightning bolt. 

Thankfully, the window slid open just an inch, halting any comeback Neil might have had on the tip of his tongue. It made a small rattling sound, but aside from that, it was fairly silent.  
Poking her head back up for barely a second told her that neither Thom nor Daniel had noticed or suspected her in the slightest. 

Score. 

"-sir, honest. He got upset with me because I just wanted to talk to him. You know we had bad blood and all that because of some dumb sh- uh, _stuff_ more than a couple of months back." 

"I do... But I also understand that you're quite notorious for being a troublemaker on and off of school grounds. So you have to get where I'm coming from with this visit." 

"Yes, sir." 

"I'm not trying to point any fingers, but you _were_ the last person to see him that night."

"Yes, sir."

"The police and I are at a loss. Are you _absolutely certain_ that you saw **nothing** out of the ordinary that night?? Nothing at all?"

"Yes, sir, I'm absolutely certain. God, Max and I used to be besties before this shitshow- _uh-_ " 

"You're fine, go on."

"Sorry, yeah, uh.. I-I dunno.. It's my fault that he got pissy in the first place. If he ran off and got himself in trouble, then yeah okay, that's kinda because of me, but _I'm_ not the guy who hurt him. Promise. You can hook me up to a lie detector and everything, sir, you gotta believe me." 

"Calm down, son. I do- I do believe you."

"I wouldn't DO shit like that; he's in the _hospital_ , man. H-He- some assholes- He's busted up all to hell, I just know it. I-I wanna go see him, but I don't think he's gonna wanna see me.."

"Why is that?" 

"Mr.Wood, he hates my guts. I-I- Can I call you David?? He calls you that all the time, I-"

"Whatever you'd like, son. Calm down." 

"David, I'm- _Fuck_ , I'm so sorry... I've pulled shitty pranks and stuff on him, sure, but I'd never- _I wouldn't rape him._ That's- GOD that's so fucked.. I-I don't wanna- I don't wanna think about it. I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I-I wouldn't-" 

"You wouldn't do anything like that. You aren't that kinda guy. Even if you had to, you wouldn't have the guts to do it."

"Exactly, yeah." 

"But you _would_ have the guts to **watch** it... _Right..?_ " 

Nikki's eyes widened as she fought back the urge to look back into the living room. No need to blow her cover, now... 

"Right, I-.. I-... W-Wait... _What..?_ " 

"Work with me here, son- calm down. I'm just spitballing. I mean, look at you. You're a nervous wreck. Even if it's just from remorse, you can't really blame me for making assumptions and jumping to conclusions, can you?"

"I-I..."

"Right. You're a good kid, Jeffrey. I know you want to tell me the truth, and I know that you _have_ told me the truth. You won't get in any trouble, son. I just want the full story."

"M-Mr-... Da-David, c'mon, man... I-I've given you everything I've got, **promise.** I-I wouldn't watch that shit!! I-I'd try to stop it!"

"Would you? How?"

"F-Fuck, I-I dunno, call the cops..?? Kick the shit outta those fuckers? Wh-What does that matter-?"

"How heroic of you. Very noble. Very.. stupid."

"U-Uhhh... M-Mr.Wood...?"

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, son. After that, I'm gonna wish you a good night and take my leave. I don't want to cause you any trouble. This was just a one time thing, and I won't bother you about this ever again."

"Y-You're..." Something or someone made a sort of shuffling sound from inside. 

"Please sit back down, Jeffrey. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Y-You're freaking the fuck outta me. A-Are we done?? C-Can you leave now?" 

"After you answer the question, son. Did you have any involvement, or know anyone who had any involvement, in kidnapping and raping Maxwell Wood?" 

"I-I-" The room went quiet for a couple of moments. Nikki could practically hear her heart thudding in her ears. Neil's grip on her shoulders tightened as he leaned forward to hear a bit better. 

"Jeffrey," Daniel warned. Tone dangerous. 

"I don't. Know. _Anything._ I won't say it again, Mr.Wood. I-I'm **REALLY** fuckin' sorry for what happened to your kid, but I'm NOT the guy you're looking for. I-If anything, you should go talk to Steven and Lindsey."

"Oh?"

"Th-They were fuckin' around with him- Steve was the first guy to beat him up before- before ANY of this even started. They were the first guys to pay any real attention to him at the party, I think."

"Are you lying to me?"

" _No!_ There were several witnesses and shit! I'm dead serious!! If anyone will know anything, it's GOTTA be them, because I don't know shit!" 

"Jeff?"

"It was a big party, man! I dunno what you want from me!"

"Jeffrey, are you afraid of me?"

"N-No.. You're just- _god_ this is just a stressful subject for me.. I-I don't wanna talk about it anymore sir, please..."

Daniel went quiet for a bit. 

"Okay, Jeffrey. I believe you. You better not be lying to me, now."

"I'm not.."

"Alright. If you think so."

"Wh-What's that supposed to-"

"Don't worry about it. We're done here. I'm sorry for frightening you, kiddo. That wasn't my intent." 

"A-Are you gonna tell the cops what I.." Thompson trailed off.

"Why would I? You told them all the same things, right?"

"R-Right.. Yeah.."

"Of course. You're a good kid, Jeffrey. You wouldn't be dishonest to law enforcement, and you wouldn't seriously hurt anyone."

"Y-Yes, sir, that's right."

"Steven and Lindsey, you said? What are their last names?"

"Scott. They live a couple blocks away on Evergreen Road. Big gray house- you can't miss it." 

"They live together?"

"Yeah, they're siblings. If they can't tell you more, then I can't help you, sir. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

Nikki anxiously rose up from the ground just an inch, worried that she'd missed Thom's response. She didn't hear a thing. Judging by Neil's silence, he didn't either.

"You're a good kid, Jeffrey. Have a nice day. Tell your folks hi for me, okay?"

"O-Okay." Thom's reply was meak and pathetic. Just barely audible. 

"It'll be okay, son. I'm not upset with you, and neither are the police, okay?"

"Uh huh..."

"Stay safe, kid." 

That was the last thing Nikki heard out of either of them before the front door opened once more. The conversation had ended. 

The interrogation was over. 

Neil visibly relaxed behind her, letting go of her shoulders at long last and letting out a heavy sigh. She joined him, uneasily slumping down to the ground and allowing herself to breathe properly for the first time in what _felt_ like an hour. 

**God** , what a RUSH! That was like watching one of the dramas on TV that her mom loves so much! _But if she was blind or couldn't see the TV!_

Admittedly, yeah, not being able to SEE Daniel in action had been a bit disappointing. He was a good actor, though. A REALLY good actor. WAAAAY better than she would ever be, that's for sure.  
She could already tell that he'd be **more** than helpful in the future. Somehow, someway, he'd gotten them next to nothing, but also just enough for them to not have to throw in the towel. 

Steven and Lindsey. GOD, why hadn't they thought about that?! They _had_ been one of the first few people on their list of suspects, but just like all of their previous attempts with Thom, it never got them anywhere. Hell, she was getting the same old vibes she'd gotten while on the way to Thompson's place.

Steve and Lindsey are just another dead end. Another dragon to slay. Another insurmountable challenge. This is just growing more and more hopeless by the minute, huh? 

Exchanging a brief glance with Neil, they both nodded to each other before grabbing the other's hand and standing up together. Sneaking back towards the tree the way they came, they managed to spot Daniel closing the door behind himself and calmly making his way back down the walkway. 

He didn't pause to give them any attention. He simply continued on his merry way, arms folded behind his back, and disappeared back around the corner. Their rendezvous point. 

Neither of them spotted Thom (or anyone else for that matter, really), as they hurried back to meet up with their partner. The mission, by all means, had been a success, but not exactly the kind of success they were hoping for. There was something to be happy about, regardless. 

Daniel stood leaned up on the fence post like before, patiently waiting for them while staring out at the road. Rather than wearing a calm mask, his eyes were narrowed and his shoulders were squared. 

" **GREAT** first day on the job, Daniel!!" she complimented immediately, absolutely BEAMING up at him. "You're a natural!"

"What's up?" Neil questioned, reading the atmosphere better than she had. 

"The kid's lying," Daniel admitted in a quiet voice. He was tense. Frustrated. "He's hiding something. I just don't know what. I don't like it." 

Neil nodded. "Finally, something we can fuckin' agree on. The bastard's trying to pin this shit on Steve and Lindsey."

"He's guilty about something, but I don't think he did it, kid." 

"Aaaaaaand nevermind..."

Daniel shook his head in spite of the scorn. "He didn't do it. He knows who did, though. I doubt he'll let me talk to him again, but at least I'm getting a better picture here.."

"A better picture is better than no picture," Nikki pitched in, offering a supportive smile as she let go of Neil's hand. She rubbed the sweat off on her shorts. "You did your best. You were badass. That's all that matters."

"Language, darling."

" _You were SO fucking badass._ " 

" _Language_ ," Neil joined in. 

Smirking just a little, Daniel rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to make another retort. He stilled abruptly, though, lips turning down as he dug a hand into his pocket. Pulling out his phone, he checked it quickly before pressing something and putting it to his ear. 

"Hello?" 

Nikki gave Neil another look, unsure of what to do with herself, but also wanting to give Daniel some privacy. Neil didn't return the glance. He was observing Daniel as if he was suspecting the man of committing some sort of crime. It had Nikki shaking her head and lightly punching him on the shoulder. 

"Knock it off."

"What?" 

"You know what." 

"Oh-" Daniel turned his head away from the both of them, "-sure thing, Sunshine. I just wanted to go out and get some air."

 _'Sunshine'..?_ Well, now she was joining Neil in on the staring. 

"Of course, don't even worry about it. See you in five."

Daniel hung up then, quickly pocketing his phone and standing up properly. He seemed to unthinkingly run a hand through his hair and adjust his clothes; wanting to look perfect for a certain someone. 

Ignoring her want to not be so nosy for the time being, Nikki found herself inching towards Daniel with poorly restrained curiosity. 

" _Who was that..?_ " 

Daniel started, not having expected Nikki to be so close to his person. "Oh, uh, David. I'm sorry to cut our time together short, but I need to return home. We can resume this-"

"So you two ARE dating!!" 

"-tomor- um... I-I-" Daniel blinked rapidly a few times, pulling his head back in shock." _Excuse me..??_ " 

"'Sunshine'..?" Neil joined in on her pestering, wanting answers as badly as she did.

"Wh-What part of giving someone a nickname makes you assume that we're-" Daniel wrinkled his nose, apparently _appalled_ by the very idea of him and David being together romantically. "Our relationship is purely platonic, and even if it wasn't, for some absurd reason, it's _certainly_ none of your business, you two."

Neil snorted at that. " _Are you fucking serious???_ No man calls their buddy from work 'Sunshine' unless he's fucking them! What kinda straight bullshit-" 

" _Language!!_ " Daniel seethed, face going a bit red. He raised his hands and roughly threw them to his sides in a 'quit it' sort of motion. 

"Th-This is HIGHLY inappropriate! I'm NOT continuing this conversation." 

"What's inappropriate about it??" Nikki continued to push, now just genuinely confused by the outrage. And the fact that David and Daniel apparently **weren't** a couple. 

... That.. or they were a _secret_ couple.. 

"There's nothing wrong with being gay, Daniel," Neil pitched in. Daniel glared at him. " _I'm_ gay. Nikki's gay- well, okay, no. I'm bi. Nikki's straight up gay, though. Maybe. Possibly questioning..?"

"Nah, I'm gay all the way. Girls are hot." 

"Yeah, she's gay." 

" **That's enough.** " Daniel was completely fed up with them at this point. Oddly enough, he looked less angry or upset and more just purely uncomfortable. His reaction didn't sit all that well with her, so she decided that now was a pretty good time to leave him alone about the topic. 

He was right. His relationship with David was his own business, and even though she was REEEALLY curious, she'd give the man some privacy. 

Neil scoffed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Whatever. Have it your way, man, be weird about it. We'll pick this up tomorrow, then?" 

Nikki nodded enthusiastically. Daniel let out a heavy exhale as he shook his head. 

"Might as well. Same time, same place?" 

"Same time, same place," Nikki and Neil agreed.

"Alright. Be safe on your way home. Buddy system, you two." 

"You got it. Have fun, Daniel! Thanks for all your help!! I'll keep asking you those questions tomorrow, okay?!" 

Daniel nodded, threw up a peace sign, and that was that. She watched him leave the way they'd both come, unable to and unwilling to wipe the grin from her face. 

This was a step in the right direction. She didn't know how, exactly, but she just knew it was. Whether Steve and Lindsey ended up being another wall to hit their heads against or not, she knew they were on the right track. They just had to keep at it until something broke. 

"What a fuckin' weirdo," Neil groaned beneath his breath. 

"I know," Nikki sighed dreamily. "He's perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nikki and Neil: _Stand outside David's apartment blasting "It's Okay to be Gay" at five am_  
>  Daniel, crying: " _PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE_ " 
> 
> Chapter 2 is finally posted, and MAN, is it a doozy! Thanks for sticking with me from the beginning, and thank you new readers for giving this story a chance! I have a _lot_ planned for it, so be sure to stick around! Kudos, subscriptions, bookmarks, and comments especially help me out a ton! 
> 
> From chapter 7 onward, I'll be giving updates on my Tumblr on Feeding the Flames, posting times, and the occasional sneak peek of brand new chapters from time to time so you guys know when to expect an update and when not to. Be sure to follow it if you're interested in the progress of the story, and please don't be afraid to send me an ask or PM or something if you'd like! 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	8. Act 2: Epiphany

Daniel made his way down the sidewalk, irritation burning just beneath his skin. It was a familiar feeling at this point. There are many reasons to feel frustration. Anger. Maybe even a bit of regret in the mix.

There are many reasons to feel anger. _'It's natural'_ , he's been told. _'You shouldn't try to suppress it'_.  
Suppressing is the only thing he knows, unfortunately. He's seen what happens when he _doesn't_ , and he's still rather adamant about no one finding out about it. 

Suppression is _good._ Suppression is _safe._

Suppression is the only thing he has between himself and horrible life choices. It may not be an ideal situation, but he can't afford to have anything else at the moment. 

There are many reasons to want to repress these feelings. There are many reasons to feel anger. _This should not be one of them._

He should not be so bent out of shape after just one interrogation after the first day on the job. He wanted to pause and scoff at the phrase 'on the job', but he decided against it with a shake of his head. Jeffrey's words kept replaying again and again in his head; buzzing around like unstable lines of code trying to find their correct places. Trying to fit into the puzzle and make some semblance of sense. Order.  
There are pieces missing, however. He doesn't have everything he needs to solve the puzzle, so it's going to remain incomplete until he gathers more information. 

It was simple. The answer to his questions was simple. As much as he loathed to say it, this _was_ his 'first day' helping out the kids, so _of course_ he was going to be as lost as they are for a while. Of course. He had expected this outcome: An inconclusive interview. 

He had prepared for it and even planned ahead for what to do after it. Irrationally, that all did him no good in the end, as nothing coherent could be gleamed from the mess of his racing mind. 

All Daniel knows is that Jeffrey Thompson has information he hypothetically shouldn't, should he be innocent, and that Daniel is needed at home right now. 

He was less than content with that knowledge. 

Funny, how the only reason he'd come to Neil and Nikki in the first place was for David's sake. Funny, how he is now experiencing needless turmoil for David's sake. Hilarious, how he hasn't the foggiest idea of _why_ he's so okay with it; with any of it. 

It goes beyond the 'debt' he feels he owes the man. It goes beyond wanting some kind of role in the recent turn of events. It goes beyond even feeling somehow 'responsible' for David's emotional and physical well-being. It was an odd sort of.. 'attachment' that he just couldn't explain.

David is.. a nice person. Really nice. Horrifically naive and foolishly trusting of random strangers, but nice. 

He's a hard-working young man that always seems to know what to say and when to say it to clear any tension in a room. He's comfort when you wouldn't think to find any. As sappy as it is, David is the sun that drives anyone's dark clouds away.  
David is everything Daniel sort of _wishes_ he could have been. He's someone Daniel idolizes in a lot of ways, and pities in others. David certainly is **not** someone who deserves to be put through any form of torment. Seeing the man frown, seeing him be discontent, is a crime. 

He feels attached to David, but putting it simply: Seeing David be in distress brought _him_ distress, and he didn't like it. Hell, even hearing the man's voice on the phone had his heart skipping a beat.

Not because it had been anything _bad_ , but because of the fact that... 

_"Oh, no no- I-I don't want to be a bother!! I-I just wanted to call and check in with you, since you uh- you weren't at the apartment this morning and uh-"_

Daniel pulled his mouth into a thin line, almost halting in his steps. 

_"I-I just got... worried... I-It's silly and stupid, I know! I just wanted to uh- I wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm uh, I'm fine! I'm fine, just.. Thinking about you- HOW- How you're doing..!"_

'Thinking about you'...

_"Haha, I-I- yeah. Soooo DON'T even worry about it! I-I'll see you later, I guess, uh-"_

David's voice had been wavering over the phone: A telltale sign that he'd been crying or was about to cry. Although David, naturally, kept insisting that everything was fine, _he_ insisted on going back to check up on him. 

_"O-Oh, no, y-you don't have to-"_

No. But he **wants** to. He doesn't have to understand his feelings to understand that. The investigation can wait for the time being. Maybe some time away would do him some good.

He.. _liked_ the fact that he'd been on David's mind. That he'd been a part of his life without having to be in the same room. It made him feel... happy. 

Y'know. In a 'oh, he's such a good friend' kind of way. Not in the- _Not in the other way that he shall not describe or name._

Honestly, kids these days. 

Shaking his head, Daniel took a quick look over his shoulder before rounding the corner. The aggravation of having work that's unable to be completed attempted to rear its ugly head again, so he unconsciously snapped the (new) hair tie on his wrist and thought of something else. 

He needs to focus. He needs to prioritize. Take things one step at a time. Scheduling is something he's good at. It's methodical and relaxing. Having everything in one neat line laid out for you is so much easier than playing your day by ear. 

He wondered, absently, if sticking to his prior status quo was such a good idea. Didn't it coincide with the person he used to be? 

No real time was spent pondering that very good question, however, as Daniel was already updating his itinerary for the afternoon. 

\- Head home and comfort David (if necessary) 

\- ~~Have something to eat~~ Make David some dinner (if necessary)

\- Review Thompson's interrogation and attempt to piece something together if possible 

\- ~~Sleep??~~

He wasn't satisfied with it, but the list would have to suffice for now. He'd improve it as his evening played out. There were certain variables upsetting his ability to plan ahead with certainty, so patience was the key at the moment. 

Patience is going to be the key for a lot of things, he supposes. Whether that's good or bad depends, but he couldn't ignore the bitter swirl of dread in the pit of his stomach. Acting out a role is all well and good. For how _long_ was the main concern. 

_How long_ would he need to keep up the search with the kids? _How long_ would he need to be a shoulder to lean on for David? 

_How long did he even plan on staying in town?_

The obvious answer for the first one was 'until the culprit is caught', but that could take weeks, months, years. The second kind of tied into the third, but he disliked thinking about either, so childishly, he didn't. Adding 'start thinking about finding a new place to stay' to his agenda just gave him a headache. 

A large part of him didn't **want** to be patient, though. An even larger part of him didn't **want** to be getting involved in the affairs of other people. 

David is a nice person, but he wouldn't really consider them to be real _friends._ More like acquaintances, if anything. Daniel's made it a point to be much more friendly and open in the recent weeks, and he knows the change was a bit too abrupt for David's tastes, even if the man didn't say it out loud. 

He didn't even want to get _started_ on his relationship with Max- let alone Neil and Nikki. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel _anything_ for the children or for David. It would also be a lie to say that all of it was positive. 

Gwen... Gwen avoids him a lot, so he's not even going to factor her into this. 

Maybe he's being a bit too generous for his own good... Putting himself in these situations and feeling the need to get caught up in all of the drama was- well, it was unnecessary. And he knew it. 

And yet he continued to do it anyway. He acted like a friend, for David's sake. He took the time to help out in the search parties, for David's sake. He went to Neil and Nikki so he could further along the investigation, for David's sake. 

David, David, _David._ They aren't friends. They aren't- _They aren't 'THAT'._ They weren't all that close- at least from Daniel's perspective. 

He's practically bending over backwards to make David feel better in any way he can, and it's only out of obligation and his.. confusing feelings. Is that.. 

Is that **really** enough to warrant his involvement?

It had _felt_ right in the moment, but now he wasn't so sure. It _still_ feels right, despite himself and the conflicting facts. He just- He couldn't trust his brain for something so complicated and.. touchy. He couldn't trust himself to _know_ right from wrong anymore; especially when emotions were being taken into consideration.

He couldn't trust himself to know much of anything in the sentimental department. All that he knew was that he owed David his involvement, and that had to be enough. He'll.. figure out the rest later.

Sighing to relieve some of the strain in his chest, Daniel had been just about to turn another corner when something caught his eye. To his right, on the fence post, was that..? 

A missing poster. _Max's_ missing poster. 

Ah. Right. Some of those were still up in certain places. Neil and Nikki had said that they'd been removing them whenever they saw them, but a dozen more were undoubtedly scattered about in obscure locations just waiting to be found or thrown into the trash. This one was no exception. 

He reached forward with a tentative hand, brows furrowed and frown deepening by the second. Purely by instinct he was skimming the words despite knowing exactly what it said.  
Again and again he scanned the poster, illogically wanting to decipher it. He must really be out of it, because the words seemed to meld together into nonsense in his brain. 

_MISSING: Maxwell Arya Wood. Last seen Friday night-_ Absolute gibberish to him. He tried again. 

_MISSING: Maxwell Arya Wood. Last seen-_ Yeah, no, he's done with that. That gave him a migraine. 

Why?? He hasn't the foggiest idea, but he's gotten too used to it to question it at this point. Basic reading is another thing he can add to the list of daily annoyances he has. (He doesn't really have that.)

Diverting his attention to the picture of Max on the poster, Daniel hadn't realized that he'd ceased all motions of tearing the thing down. He knew it was essentially a public nuisance at this point. He knew the right thing to do was remove it. 

Removing it would have been easy. Easy, if not for the resurgence of.. of _something_ in the back of his mind.

So much has happened in the past few weeks. He'd almost completely forgotten about the night that had started this all in its entirety. It felt like a bad dream, but bits and pieces were coming back to him.

 

_It had been around two or three in the morning. He hadn't been too sure, actually. He hadn't been too sure of much of anything that night._

_He'd been here- on the sidewalk. By the fence. Not far from Thompson's house. He'd been here with David, helping him to put up the posters. He'd been there with David on the first official search party._

_He'd been there when David scolded Max about not going out to some sort of event at Silverlake Park. He'd been there when Max was grounded. He_ **hadn't** _been there when the kid went 'missing'. The moment David called him in a panic was the moment Daniel left his workplace to try and get the full story. To try assist any way he could._

_That's the most he remembered. What followed was a hazy series of events that he honestly didn't care to recall. David's fears were contagious, and soon, they were proven to be worth listening to._  
_Everyone had been on edge after the first week passed. Daniel's life had been a back-and-forth of joining search parties and being some solace for David for such a short period of time, and yet a period of time that dragged on for way too long._

_For lack of a better description, and pardon his language, everything had gone down the gutter._

_And now, knowing that Max is alive but worse for wear, things have somehow become worse. Sifting through the baffling hodgepodge that is his limited understanding of the world and how people are_ **supposed** _to work, Daniel was, quite frankly, at a loss for how to approach his own emotions._

_His relationship with Max had been strenuous at best, antagonistic at worst. They had their highs and they had their lows, and despite the teen's obvious distaste of his presence, Daniel couldn't say that he hated the kid. Far from it, really. Max could be endearing in his own right; much like Neil and Nikki._

_However, the moment he saw Max in the hospital and found himself overcome with.._ **rage..?**

_He'd.. He'd wanted to question his stance on the kid then and there, but there had been very little time to. He had to be mentally present for David's sake and not his own._

_Taking a moment to reflect now, though, didn't exactly get him the results he'd been expecting._

_"Calm down, David. I'm sure he's fine."_

_"HOW?! H-How do we know- H-How do YOU know that he's 'fine'?! H-He could be- H-He could be_ **HURT** _somewhere! H-He could be in trouble!"_

_David anxiously handed him a poster, hands shaking as he fumbled with the roll of tape. Daniel had accepted them both with no fight and did as was wanted of him._

_"I-I'm sorry, but I.. I-I can't believe that.. I-I'd rather be safe than sorry."_

_"I.." He stared at the poster then, much like he had in the present. "I understand."_

_And he did. He did understand, and hadn't just been saying that to be amicable. Perhaps in any other situation, he might have just smiled and did as he was told with no rancor. Perhaps that's how he should have handled the situation._

_He hadn't shown it then, and he hasn't shown it now, but that night.. With tensions high and thoughts flying; suspicions being formed and the foreboding atmosphere engulfing everyone in the know.._

_He couldn't stop thinking about Max. He couldn't stop thinking about the way he snickers at nonsensical jokes. He couldn't stop thinking about the constant bombardment of pranks and endless stream of jeers and quips that he always had prepared. He couldn't stop thinking about his love of music, like David, and his talent on the guitar that Daniel rarely heard, but enjoyed nonetheless._

_That night, he'd thought of Max again and again, and allowed the perturbation to spread._

_That night, he'd been afraid._

 

Daniel tore the poster from its place on the fence and crumpled it up into a ball. It was thrown over his shoulder without a second thought. 

He's had enough reminiscing for one day. Brooding over the past and letting it affect the present is something morons do. He's needed in the present right now, and that's where he'll stay. 

He's certainly wasted more than enough time just standing around, anyway. Hopefully David won't mind the delay.

______________________________________________________

"Good boy," Daniel cooed, kneeling down in order to properly ruffle the dog's fur around its neck. "Whooo's a good boy?? Who's a good boy?" 

The dog's tongue lolled about as it panted happily. He had to lean back as it attempted to lick his face. 

"Yeah, yes, it's you. You're the good boy. Just don't get your slobber all over me, alright?" 

Naturally, it didn't understand his words and lurched forward again. Daniel couldn't help the laugh as he was too slow to push the mound of brown fur away from his person. Before he knew it, he was toppling backwards and suffering a vicious array of excited laps and needy whines. 

" _No! No, get- haha - get off!_ " He put his hands on the dog's underside, hoping to throw it off and give him enough time to escape. A heavy paw practically crushing his chest certainly gave him a convincing incentive, but the hot breath in his face was more than a little distracting. He couldn't stop squirming long enough to get a good angle.

In short: The vile beast has him pinned and it knows it. How cruel. What a way to go. Does it have no mercy? 

Judging by the rapidly wagging tail, he was going to take a shot in the dark and say no. 

He'd been _hoping_ to be through with the minor distractions for the time being. David hadn't called or texted him since he and the kids went their separate ways, but he was certain that his friend was having some sort of panic attack. From what, exactly, he could take a wild guess, even though he'd wanted to find out for himself as soon as possible. 

Alas, things never turn out the way you want them to, huh? It'd be literally five more steps forward before he entered the apartment complex and resumed his main goal. If only his new pal hadn't been sitting by the front door. The moment he tried to walk inside, he was ambushed, and- well, the rest is history. 

Nearly gagging from the putrid smell of wet dog, Daniel eventually was able to drag himself onto his knees. His buddy must have realized the previous position was uncomfortable for him and had backed off for a few moments. 

Although he was laughing, the damage had been done. Large, highly visible, paw prints dotted his hoodie, and he was certain that his hair was beyond _tousled._ How and why the dog- _oh screw it, he'll call the guy 'Buddy'._

How and why _Buddy_ seemed to be.. he'll say _damp_ wasn't something he thought he really wanted to know. His appearance could be fixed and easily explained away. 

What he _couldn't_ explain away, however, was why a stray dog was tagging along with him in David's apartment. He was highly aware of the strict "No Pets" policy, so even if he wanted to give Buddy some shelter, he knew he couldn't.

Sighing to let off a bit of steam, Daniel forced himself to stand up before Buddy decided to give him another harsh round of love and affection. Trying to make himself _not_ smile as he pointed a finger at the dog was surprisingly difficult. 

" _BAD._ Bad dog. _No._ " 

Buddy looked up at him with pleading eyes. Adorable and very brown; just like the rest of him. 

"Oh, don't you give me that look. You know what you did, mister. You probably have- bugs. Or something.." His scolding fell a bit flat as he hesitated, trying to recall his very limited knowledge of dogs. 

Much like the apartment, pets of any kind weren't really allowed back at the compound. All he's seen of dogs are either from passerbys or on TV. The most he could tell you about them are that they love to be pet, and they bark a lot. 

They also _maybe_ understand English..? To an extent..?? 

Daniel lowered his hand and narrowed his eyes at Buddy. He was pretty large. Likely an unusual breed, as he couldn't remember seeing one like him at the park before. 

Funnily enough, the image of David strolling out of the complex and going on a long-winded informational rant on Buddy's exact breed popped into his mind just then. Knowing David and knowing Daniel's luck, that might as well happen. 

_"Oh, he's OBVIOUSLY a Silver-pointed King's Bane!! Gosh, isn't he so pretty, Daniel?? I haven't seen one of these up close since the winter of 2010! You should've seen that big guy, Danny, he was so cute and friendly! Did you know they can sniff out a squirrel from over ten miles away?? They're so incredible and intelligent! Reminds me of my days back at camp as a camper myself, actually-"_

Good old David... Never change. 

The blaring incentive of "Protect David" overrode any other comical scenario that he may have had, though, for better or worse. He needed to quit toying around and get back to work. 

Shaking his head, Daniel brought his hand back up and took a step away from Buddy. 

"Go back to your owner, okay? Or-" right, he's a stray, "- or go lay under a tree. Anything that isn't this, okay?" 

Buddy, who had been waiting patiently by his feet as if he expected to be scratched again, stopped wagging his tail and cocked his head to the side. 

Stop wasting time. _Protect David._

"Go on. Get. You don't wanna stay around me, anyway. I'm not good with- animals." 

Daniel began to feel a bit queasy as Buddy rose from the asphalt and padded over to bump his head against his leg. He tried to push the dog away. 

**Protect David.**

" **No.** I need to go and you can't follow me. We'll _both_ get in trouble if someone catches you in the lobby." 

Buddy let out a high pitched noise that he assumed was another whine. How delightfully pathetic. Daniel rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen. If you want food, newsflash: I don't have anything on me. Go bother someone else- I'm busy." 

Buddy still didn't seem to be getting the message. He circled Daniel once, then twice, before sitting back down in his original position. He's cheerfully swishing his tail from side to side again as if nothing happened. 

Daniel briefly wondered if Buddy would continue to look as happy if he brandished his knife and- _HAHA HE IS NOT CONTINUING THAT THOUGHT._ He is NOT murdering a dog in broad daylight. 

NOT today, brain.

He hurriedly snapped the hair tie on his wrist once. Twice. It didn't help. He turned and speed walked towards the front door, practically tearing the ruined hair out of his scalp with how hard he dug his nails in. 

Unwanted notions won't be tolerated. He knows better than to act on his impulses by now, so _why_ is it so challenging to resist the urge sometimes?? Why can't every episode and every intrusive thought function the same way as the last? Why can't he predict what will set himself off and what won't? 

He instinctively drew a hand to his left arm, allowing himself to bitterly sulk over the consequences of his last mistake for perhaps the first time since it happened. He'd wanted to ignore it. If he covered it up at all times and acted like it didn't exist, then it didn't exist. That's what he had to hope for. 

_God_ , why does he always do this?? Why does he always ruin a perfectly okay situation out of the blue? For the sake of self-degradation? For the sake of being an impudent little nuisance? 

**_Why-_**

Buddy tugged at his pant leg. 

Apparently he didn't want Daniel to go just yet. Admittedly, his abrupt dismissal of the dog felt unfair and uncalled for- even with his current goal in mind.  
Even so, Daniel couldn't do anything to stop his impetuous first thought. He kicked Buddy to get the mangy mutt off of his person, hoping that the shock would be enough to scare the guy off. 

" **Get away from me.** " 

Finally reaching the door, he pushed it open and took a step inside the lobby. Berating himself all the while, he gave a guilty pause and turned to observe the aftermath of his cruel action. 

Rather than seeing a hurt dog laying desolately in the parking lot, however, he ended up making direct eye contact with a feral beast. Buddy had pulled his lips back into a snarl and crouched down into a menacing pose. 

All at once, Daniel knew he screwed up. 

"Yikes... Buddy, are you-?" 

Buddy let out a dangerous snarl. 

" _Yikes._ " Yeah. Yep. Not the time to continue acting like Buddy can understand what he's saying. Daniel doesn't need to be growled at twice to get the picture. He dashed into the lobby without a second thought. 

Unfortunately, fast and unpredictable actions don't frighten dogs, as he'd hoped. _They encourage them._

Before he knows it, Daniel is racing past a couple that had been on their way outside. Uttering a hurried "Excuse me!", he sprinted up the stairs faster than he ever has before.  
The sound of loud egregious barking echoed along the walls- constant reminders of his past and current sins. Claws skidding along the tile told him everything he needed to know as he reached the second flight. 

_He didn't close the door fast enough, did he. Nope, he couldn't have, because there is a vicious dog RIGHT at his heels and oh god he's never run so hard before._

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M A BAD PERSON- PLEASE STOP-" 

Tripping on the last stair, Daniel caught himself and **sped** down the hallway. He couldn't be certain because everything went by in a blur, but he saw several doors open as he flew by, so likely he was drawing a crowd. Both good and bad. 

He'll have a nice little audience while he gets brutally mauled to death by someone he once called a friend. What a poetic allegory of his life. 

Sharply rounding the corner, he had time to get one fleeting peek at Buddy as he slid across the floor. If there was one sight that could shake any man to his core, it was a possibly wild dog running at you from a long hallway with teeth bared and destruction in its eyes.

" _n O PE !_ " he squeaked, catapaulting himself down the final corridor. 

"What the hell-" he heard someone begin to say from a room he passed. 

" _D O G, ANGRY, BYE!_ " 

"What the- **FUCK?!** " 

His sentiments exactly. Hyperventilating and chest aching, Daniel didn't slow down for anything. Though he raced by room after room too quickly to see the designated numbers, he had David's apartment memorized. It was the second to last one down this hall. If he could just get there and not die, that'd be swell- 

An especially loud bark had him starting, nearly tumbling forward as his foot caught on something he hadn't seen beforehand. He caught himself on the wall, but Buddy was closing the gap between them. _Fast._

" _Cripes cripes cripes-_ " 

Wasn't ANYONE going to help him?! Hello! Stray dog that should not belong inside of an apartment complex! Bunch of _cowards._ Honestly, what good are people these days- 

" _HEY!_ " Something- _Buddy_ \- nipped at his ankle, just narrowly missing its mark.

" **_Daniel?!_** " 

Looking up at hearing his name being called, Daniel almost breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing none other than David standing in the doorway of their apartment; likely having heard the commotion and come out to investigate. 

He didn't have the time to eloquently explain himself. 

" _I'M SORRY, GET BACK IN-_ " was all he had the time to say as he threw himself at the man. 

They collided- David stumbling back in shock and making no efforts to cushion his own fall. Landing in an unceremonious heap, Daniel didn't take any time to recollect himself. Buddy had been _seconds_ away from gnawing his foot off, so- 

" _GAH-!_ " He scrambled to get a good angle, kicking his legs out to slam the door shut when the first thing he saw in the hall was a familiar flash of brown fur. 

The door clicked into place on his third attempt. It nearly made him deaf in the process, but he'd closed the door. He'd escaped the wrath of Buddy. 

_For now._

". . ." 

Nothing but the sound of his own distressed breaths and Buddy's frantic barking could be heard for a while. Claws scraped at the door, seeking purchase that it wasn't going to find. Daniel wanted to get up and barricade the door despite knowing full well that even a dog Buddy's size couldn't break it down. 

Still, maybe that might be a good idea- 

"Uh... _Daniel..??_ " 

He jumped, immediately standing in one swift motion when he remembered that he wasn't alone. Of course. How the heck had he forgotten that he'd crashed into David not even a _minute_ ago-? 

"Sorry- Right, I'm- Sorry, are you-" an excessively loud bark from outside made Daniel pause mid-sentence. 

He was as good as frozen for the time being as his brain worked to process all that had just happened. None of it felt real, regardless of the fact that he realized he'd been in actual danger in the hallway. It didn't make any sense- 

"Daniel, WHAT in the _HECK_ was THAT?!" David demanded, pulling himself back up to his feet. Daniel felt like he should have assisted rather than continue to stand still. 

"Di- Did you- _was that a DOG?!_ " 

"Yeeeaaahhh..." 

" _Danny, what did you do-_ " 

"I didn't do aaaanythiiing-" 

"DANIEL!"

"It wasn't my fault!! He- _It-_ **_Dogs hate me, David._** " 

" _What??_ "

Buddy's barks slowly devolved into growls. He could still hear the beast sniffing and whimpering as it failed to reach its target. Several sets of footsteps could be heard throughout the complex- either in surprise from the situation itself, or running to get Buddy back outside. He didn't know because he didn't really pay attention to what the voices were saying. 

Blinking roughly a few times, Daniel felt the world shift just barely. It was an odd sensation that he couldn't exactly describe. One moment he was looking just over David's shoulder to avoid eye contact, and the next his vision was nearly whiting out as everything seemed to.. refocus..? 

"Hey- woah!!" David exclaimed, reaching forward to catch him before he fell forward. 

"H-Hey, hey, c-come on, you should sit down-" 

" _Oh... my... gosh..._ " 

"What-" 

"That was- ThAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" Daniel declared, suddenly finding himself and throwing a wide grin David's way. Laughing felt SO good right now. 

"I- I've never- I've never been chased by a _dog_ before! That was SO FREAKING COOL OH MY GOD-!" 

David looked at him like he'd gone crazy. " **_What??!_** " 

"Y-You- That can just HAPPEN?! You can just- DOGS can just.. _CHASE YOU?!_ Dogs can just roam around and be DANGEROUS??" 

" _Wh- Um- I-_ " 

" _David, your society is so hectic and SO SO good, holy crap._ "

Daniel just couldn't stop laughing. He might as well be an overly excited child at this point, because he sure as hell _feels_ like one. An unexplained elation replaced what had so recently been dread so quickly that he couldn't tell if it was the rising hysteria or the insanity talking. 

He _liked_ it, though, so he didn't question it any further. 

"D-Daniel, I **really** think you should sit down.. Co-Come on, the couch is this way.." 

" _Nnnnoooooo!_ I-I screwed up, yeah okay sure, but it was a FUN screw up, okay?! No one got hurt! Except for maybe our door- yikes.. Is he still goin' at it-?"

"N-No, Danny.. The dog left a while ago.." 

"Really??" Huh. He could have sworn he could still hear the desperate scratching even as they spoke. Strange. But neat. 

David's brows knitted in worry as he drew a hand up to Daniel's forehead. It took him a moment to understand the action. 

"Wh- Oh, _David_ , I'm _not_ ill and I'm not concussed." He reached up to push David's arm away. "Relaaaax." 

"How can you expect me to 'relax' when you just RAN in here being chased by a DOG and LAUGHING about it like all of it's completely normal?! You're a mess a-and you could be hurt- _are you hurt?!_ " 

Daniel rolled his eyes, taking David's concerns at face value. " _No._ " 

" _Are you sure??_ " David pulled himself away from Daniel before he could give anymore input; circling Daniel as if he was expecting to find bleeding wounds through tears in his hoodie. 

Normally he would have been annoyed by the action, but he just couldn't shake the feeling of pure exhilaration off. Everything seemed to be going by in a daze- and not necessarily a bad one. However, he **did** feel a trill of alarm as David grabbed his right arm and attempted to roll up the sleeve. 

"Ha ha- WOAH!" Daniel jerked his arm out of David's grip. "Injuries are not- hands no??" 

David was becoming exasperated. He tried to re-word that sentence. 

"I-I meant.. I'm not.. hurt- you don't have to check, thanks." 

"Can you _really_ blame me for wanting to make sure?" 

"No, but I _can_ see when someone's overreacting-" 

That had been the wrong thing to say. Bad. Bad bad bad bad- David threw himself at Daniel with next to no warning. He flinched, expecting some other assault to his person despite knowing that this was _David_ he's talking about. It was irrational. Even more irrational, however, was being _surprised_ by the hug.

Daniel's chuckles suddenly didn't feel as fitting anymore. They felt... wrong. 

This entire atmosphere felt.. **wrong.**

Why.. wasn't David laughing along with him?? Why was he so _concerned?_ Yes, Daniel could have been torn apart by a dog, but he _hadn't been._ Hell, he's been through so much worse than just an angry dog. What would have been REALLY upsetting was an animal being the one to finally off him after everything he's been through. 

No, he was safe. He was _fine._ Possibly a little rattled, but he didn't want to focus on that. Unsure of himself, Daniel slowly reciprocated the hug. He still felt wrong. 

"I-I was-" David sounds so choked up, now. "I was so scared.." 

What? 

"I-I _know_ it's stupid and dumb and silly but I- When I woke up.. and you weren't _here.._ " 

Oh.

"I-I **know** you don't- you have things to do, you have work, y-you like being outside a-and you're your own person and you don't HAVE to always be here, but-" 

_Oh._

"- I-I couldn't stop thinking about what could happen a-and I couldn't stop thinking about _you_ being _hurt_ or _taken_ or **_worse..._** " 

_Oh, no.._

"A-And I-I called you just to make sure and you _sounded_ okay, but then I hear a lot of barking and screaming and I don't know WHAT to think and then there YOU are and-"

"David-"

"- and- and-" 

"David-" 

"- and you keep saying everything's **fine** and that you're **fine** but this iSN'T FINE. THIS ISN'T FUN."

Oh god... _He's_ being the ridiculous one here, isn't he.. David's crying because of _him._

He _is_ a bad person.

" _NONE OF THIS IS 'OKAY'. THIS ISN'T 'OKAY'._ " David's muffled himself in Daniel's shoulder, and the hug is only getting tighter and tighter. 

This should be uncomfortable, and it is. But it's also the one thing right now that feels right. 

" _This isn't funny... None of it is._ " 

"I-I know it's not," Daniel admitted at last, voice more shaky than he'd like it to be. He gave David's shoulder a few reassuring pats. "I know it's not. I'm sorry." 

And he thinks he genuinely is. He doesn't know, but he thinks he is. 

"I didn't think-" He hadn't thought. He hadn't thought about anything, really. He hadn't even taken David's emotional attachment to him into consideration. 

He'd been too reckless. He'd failed to suppress. He'd failed to turn off his emotions. 

It's his fault. His fault his fault his fault- 

"I'm so sorry.." 

He didn't know what else to say- what else he could add to the conversation. Luckily, David didn't seem to know either. So they stayed there for a while. Daniel gave David all of the time he needed to calm down. To _make sure_ that he's safe and okay and won't be going anywhere again for a while. 

When he'd made the initial goal of "Protect David", he hadn't fully realized that that meant "Protect Yourself", too. Self-preservation was just a given in any scenario, he'd imagine. Self-preservation isn't the same when you're trying to survive for someone else's sanity, though. 

Caring is a two-way street. He'd known this. David isn't his first frie- _acquaintance._ David isn't even the first person he's felt the need to protect; be it for debt or personal reasons. 

Basic emotions and feelings aren't a first for Daniel. It just didn't make them any less new and confusing. He's still learning, and this is just another one of his mistakes. 

One that he won't make again. ~~He's certainly going to make this mistake again, continuing the investigations with Neil and Nikki.~~

The wounds that Max left are far too fresh for him to go trying to open them again. Whether he likes it or not, David considers him to be a loved one somehow, someway. And he _didn't_ like the way that sounded. The connotations it brought. No, he didn't like that one bit. They both needed a distraction from any distressing events. They needed humor. 

"... Do you think someone's going to call the police on me for unintentionally bringing a dog into the complex?" 

David made a sound that he _hoped_ was a scoff. "Pr- Probably not.. Animal control, maybe."

"I have no idea what that is, but it sounds promising." 

David snorted, loosening his grip on Daniel considerably. "What- What'd you even _do_ to get it to attack you??" 

_Oh, that's simple. I kicked it because I didn't want to murder it._ If David knew the kind of person he was, intentionally or not, then he would have thrown Daniel out months ago. 

"I don't know! I don't know a single thing about dogs! I pet it and it got angry when I tried to leave!"

" _Seriously??_ That poor thing..."

"Buddy is not a 'poor thing'. He is awful." 

"He had a name tag??"

"I named him that because I thought he was my _friend._ " Daniel smirked as he recalled some choice 'lingo' that Max had taught him a while back. 

"I thought he was valid. _But he was NOT valid._ " 

" _Danny no, oh my gosh-_ " 

"Wanna sign my petition? It's called 'Legally Change Buddy's Name to Enemy'. It's what he deserves." 

David let out a loud laugh, pulling back from the hug and playfully shoving Daniel in the shoulder. It helped him to smile with less guilt. 

" _No!_ That's terrible!"

"C'mooooon, Sunshine- it's for a good cause! My friendship with Buddy has ended. Petitions are my best friends, now-"

" _Stop talking._ " 

"Oh, you know you love that language as much as I do. I'm _hip_ and _cool with the kids._ " 

David looked Daniel up and down, a hand over his mouth. His eyes were a bit red still, and it'd be quite obvious to anyone out of the know that he'd been crying. Even so, David didn't look nearly as sad anymore. 

"No. No, you're really not." 

" _Oh yeah?? How 'bout I do a 'YEET' like I'm always reading about. You wouldn't like me when I 'YEET'._ " 

"Stop saying it like that-!"

"Like what?? 'Yeet'?? Yote... Yeeted... H-How- How does that word even work? Yeet.." 

"I-I don't think it works like _that-_ " 

"Yaught."

" _Wh-_ " 

"Hold on, I think I'm onto something here. _Yoot._ " 

"Okay, that's enough."

"Quick, hand me something to throw so I can do the thing." 

"No!! No I will not! You are NOT throwing anything!"

"I'm an Anarchist. You can't tell me what to do."

"You are _not._ " 

Daniel opened his mouth to argue against that, but after a brief moment of contemplation, he closed it again and glanced away from David. David took it as a small victory. 

"HA! I was RIGHT-!"

"You weren't right about _squat-_ I just don't have a good comeback-"

"You don't have a bad bone in your body, mister." 

" _Oh-ho-ho, I don't know about that~_ " 

"What are you- oh no, don't you dare-" 

Daniel gave a devious grin as he launched himself forward, bending down a bit in order to hook a hand under David's legs so he could lift him up. Oddly enough, he didn't get nearly as much resistance as he thought he would. That didn't stop David from yelling at him, though. 

" _DANIEL!_ St- STOP picking me up like this-!"

"Stop being so light, then." 

"You know I can't help that!"

"Well then, I guess you're just gonna have 'ta deal." 

" _Daaannnnyyy-_ " 

Daniel saw his opportunity and he took it; dipping David without a single ounce of regret. 

"Yes, Sunshine?" 

David threw his head back, attempting to cover his mouth again as he let out a series of, quite adorable, chortles. He'd never say it out loud, but seeing David be so ruffled and flustered was perhaps one of his new favorite things. How wonderfully childish of himself. 

"It's great to see you coming out of your shell like this, you know," David admitted through his giggles. Daniel didn't miss the bashful tone to his voice. 

"Yeah, well, I try," he deflected unthinkingly with a shrug, standing back upright and adjusting his hold on David. 

"And you're doing amazing at it. Buuuuut you _might_ wanna go change your clothes and wash your face. You smell like wet dog." 

"Rude. That is NOT something you say to the person who could easily drop you on the floor right now." 

"You're right. I'm sorry. How about you put me down and I'll start some tea while you go and freshen up? Someone once told me it's good for the soul." 

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Stop stealing my lines, David."

"Excuse me?? _I'm_ not the one who ticked off an, apparently drenched, dog! I can say whatever I want!"

"Touché," he conceded, easing the man back onto his feet. He hadn't wanted to focus on himself for any longer than was necessary, but David's remarks on his appearance kind of hit home. He desperately needed to clean himself up. 

Sneaking a glance at Daniel as David righted himself, Daniel didn't think to react until he felt a hand mussing up his hair even further. 

"I kinda like your hair like this. It's so _fluffy!_ " 

Daniel reached up and knocked David's arm away. "Take a picture, it'll last you longer." 

He heard David audibly gasp. " _GREAT idea, Daniel!!_ " Already the man is fumbling for his phone.

Daniel took that as his cue to sprint towards the bathroom.

"Daniel, wait! I need to add it to my scrapbook!"

" _In your dreams, Davey._ " 

He wasn't sure if David had actually bothered to pursue him or not, but he didn't look back to find out. Once he reached the bathroom door he yanked it open and nearly slammed it behind himself. David's laughter through the walls was infectious, though, and he couldn't hide the lingering smile. 

Catching his breath leaned up against the door, he ran a hand through his hair; instinctively wanting to fix it. Get it just right.  
The weather outside also called for the exact _opposite_ of what he was wearing at the moment. Dirty or not, he wanted to get out of the hoodie as soon as possible. Now that he wasn't distracted comforting David, he could get on that. 

Clean himself up. Cover up the 'Buddy Incident'. Act like nothing ever happened. 

Sighing through clenched teeth, Daniel made his way over to the sink as he tugged the hoodie off of his person. David was right. It _did_ smell horribly like wet dog. He added 'do the laundry' to his agenda absently while meticulously scanning the article of clothing. 

Nothing a thorough clean couldn't fix. He folded it before laying it on the floor beside himself. Taking a moment to himself to prepare for what he was about to see in the mirror, he turned his head and- oh. 

Light blonde tufts stuck up in almost every direction imaginable. That was the first thing he noticed, and arguably one of the worst aspects of his person at the moment. His face glistened a bit with hopefully just sweat and _not_ anything dog related. With the hoodie now off, the equally gray shirt he'd worn underneath made him look noticeably more meek and pathetic. 

_Technically_ there was nothing wrong with the shirt. The countless wrinkles, however, stood out like flashing neon signs to him. Each and every one of them screamed 'WRONG' in his eyes. Definitely not something he'd be able to repair in about five minute's time. 

What stood out the most to him, though, was the obnoxious and obtuse splash of white on his left arm. Despite all of the evil little imperfections that he had to bear, **it** managed to be the **_worst._**

It had no right to even exist, if he was being honest with himself. He could have survived wearing longer sleeves for the remainder of summer. He hadn't _needed_ to patch himself up. He very well could have just let that injury remain the way it had been as a form of punishment for his near fatal stupidity.

His hand twitched, but he stopped himself from undoing the wrappings. Removing the careful stitches. Letting himself bleed. He needed to focus. Focus, focus, focus. 

He hadn't told David about it. He hadn't told David how much that night had affected him. He hadn't told David that he'd decided to help out with Max's case in his own way. He really hasn't told David much of anything. It needs to stay that way. 

Pulling out a comb from his back pocket, Daniel finally set to work. He counted the minutes that it took for him to get his hair back to the way it should be (approximately 3), and counted the minutes that it took for him to walk to his room and get a new change of clothes (about 2). 

He hadn't opted for anything special. Pretty much what he'd been wearing beforehand, except now in a lighter shade of gray. Hoodies may be uncomfortable in warm weather, but if he was going to wear long-sleeved _anything_ , it was going to be that. More than one warm layer is unthinkable. 

Adjusting his hair for about the sixth or seventh time that evening, he couldn't help but to feel like _maybe_ he should go clothes shopping later. His wardrobe isn't exactly very varied- ranging in mostly dull grays and warm browns. 

He'd been purposefully avoiding anything bright and eye-catching. White is obviously off the table. Both for personal reasons, and because...

... of a person who isn't here right now. 

For some reason, that realization.. _stung._ Was it.. _wrong_ to kind of miss having the little brat around..?

Don't get him wrong: Max has certainly been nothing but a nuisance as of late. Being aloof was nothing new for the kid, but when paired with an abnormal sensitivity to certain mundane topics, it just didn't- it didn't add up.

_"Hey, Max. How was school?" "Fuck off."_

_"Do you need help with your math homework again?" "No, you stupid cunt- leave me alone."_

_"..." "Oh my GOD, do you EVER shut the fuck up?!" "I-.. I haven't said- anything-"_

Okay, alright, sure. Perhaps he _should_ be expecting such responses from Max by. Perhaps he's overreacting. Perhaps **he's** being the sensitive one, here.

It just didn't make any sense to him, though, when just a couple weeks ago he and Max could be in the same room as each other without it turning into a screaming contest. Before he left for that party, it was like he was _revolted_ at the idea of his presence all over again.

Had he... done something wrong..?

Why does he care about this so much??

Daniel shook his head. He didn't want to think about this anymore. He turned to leave his room when-

_Insight on Max's mental state may help with the case,_ his mind tried to rationalize. _There might be important information in his room._

No. _No._ He is _not_ looking through the kid's stuff. What, does he _want_ Max to cuss him out again? No way.

_No one's been in there since he left. It might be worth it-_ Or it MIGHT get David upset with him for intruding on his son's privacy! _No!_

Daniel left his room and pulled the door shut behind him. He'd had the urge to slam it much like he had with the bathroom door. Something forced him to be discreet instead.

What was now his bedroom had used to be a near empty guest room in a narrow hallway. Unfortunately for him and his rampant thoughts, Max's room just _had_ to be six more steps in front of his person.

He shouldn't. He won't. What is he even expecting to _find?_

Glancing down the hall, Daniel leaned forward a bit in order to try and get a good look at the kitchen. From where he was standing, that task was near impossible, but he could hear David humming and it certainly wasn't coming from the living room.

He seriously isn't _considering_ this, is he? He's so much better than that-

_You're not better than anything. Get off of your high horse and stop acting like you have any morality left in you, you monster._

Daniel looked at the ground.

_Oh, so you can pick and choose what you feel guilty over. Good to know. Murdering people? Children? Oh, no, that's fiiiine. Snooping? For a good reason? Horrible. Unforgivable. Why would you even think about that-_

Daniel took a deep breath before reaching forward and opening Max's door.

The door was left only slightly ajar before he quickly pulled his hand away from the doorknob. It had creaked rather evidently, so he'd been prepared to have to cover up his tracks in case David noticed and came looking for him. Thankfully, none of that happened, and he'd been scared- **worried** over nothing.

Eyes darting back down the hallway for a second, he pushed the door open again; further this time. He tried his best to ignore the groaning of the wood, wanting to get into the room as soon as possible.

Soft light flooded the near black abyss, sending a swirl of dust motes to go flying in every which way. A white hue cascaded from the only window by the door, but only in choice amounts as the curtains had been pulled shut rather tightly.

It was a small room. More than enough for one person to be content, certainly. And that's about it.

The bed in the left hand corner of the room was unkempt and well-used, and it set off something in the back of his mind. David really _hasn't_ been in here since The Incident, then.. He had a feeling that if he had been, everything would be much neater and tidier than it currently was.

Shutting the door behind himself, he stepped over a T-shirt on the floor and kicked an empty soda can away. Just because he couldn't stop himself, he picked up one of Max's blue hoodies, folded it, and laid it nicely on a swivel chair by Max's desk. He doubted David would notice if he decided to come in after he leaves.

Squinting in order to make out much of the room was a growing hassle. He didn't want to disturb the room more than he needed to, but he also didn't want to bring on another migraine. The curtains were pulled back, only just a bit. Enough to get more of the fading sunlight into the area.

Now able to _see_ , admittedly one of the first things he took true notice of was the mess on the floor by Max's desk. What had been a dull multi-colored mass on the ground was now what used to be the kid's personal library.

Books littered the floor as if they'd been carelessly pushed from their proper places with no rhyme or reason. Picking one up and inspecting it told him that it was some sort of fictional story called _"The Monstrumologist"_.

Odd tastes in literature aside, it honestly just seemed like something a child throwing a tantrum would do: Be as chaotic as possible and leave the consequences for later. ~~Sounds familiar.~~

It was his best guess, and the one that made the most sense. It screamed 'Max'.

Checking the door just out of nerves, Daniel set the book back down where he'd found it. He was more than a _little_ interested in the endless supply of original stories and intricately designed fictional worlds that this society seemed to have, but they won't do him any good right now. What he needs is- oh.

Glancing back over at the desk, he took near immediate notice of the laptop sitting by its lonesome. That could work nicely.

Electronics are rather personalized, these days. He hadn't gotten a chance to look over Max's phone, however. The moment Neil dropped it off and disclosed the previous whereabouts of it, David kept it on his person at all times. Daniel could never bring himself to ask to see it for no particular reason. Not suspicious at all, nope.

Reaching out and opening the laptop, any and all hopes of possibly gleaming something from it were dashed almost at once.

It required a password, as most things do.

_Yeah, he hasn't the slightest idea of what Max could have decided to make it._ He also doesn't know how many tries he'll get. For all he knows, it's three screw ups in a row and the thing just shuts down on him for like an hour or something. That makes sense, right?

Max likes... _God_ , what does Max like?

Max likes throwing Daniel's clothes and personal objects out of the closest window. Max likes.. showing him weird and highly disturbing videos from the internet that he doesn't want to think about ever again. Max likes chasing him around the house with self-proclaimed 'holy water' in a spray bottle.

Max likes a lot of weird things that he doesn't understand. He's never going to get anywhere with this even if he tries.

" _Shoot._ " 

He could certainly _try_ , but tea doesn't take that long to make. David would surely come looking for him soon. He didn't have time to waste; especially since this had been an impulsive action. He's already spent more than five minutes just perfecting his attire.

He'd have to revisit the laptop at some other point in time, if necessary. For now, he closed the device with a disappointed shake of his head.

He's running out of time...

Refusing to admit that he's panicking while clearly panicking, Daniel quickly eyed the dresser to his left. While he wasn't too sure of what _clothes_ would accomplish, he didn't really think his plan through well enough. Story of his life, really.

Just as one would expect, the top drawer held T-shirts of varying colors. He's certain he's seen Max wear all of them at least once, but that information isn't helping his cause, so he shut it again without another thought.

The second drawer appeared to be the one to house the shorts and pants. Again, not helping.

Admittedly, though, the drawers were much more nicely organized then he'd been anticipating. That had to count for something. 

He is such a moron. He hadn't exactly been expecting some TV drama-esque notes with obscure writing and vague clues. He hadn't exactly been expecting anything that obvious. Heck, if he was going to find _anything_ useful, it would have been hints of building frustration or indications of inner demons that could set him on a different path.

And he found it, certainly. He just either couldn't decipher it, or the likely cause was something he could have already guessed.

This was just his mind leading him astray. Of course it was. _Of course_ that's all this'd be. He should have just accepted the fact that it sounded stupid and returned to David rather than making an issue of himself.

Stupid stupid stupid.

Hopefully his presence wasn't missed all that much. If he left now, he was certain that he wouldn't be questioned. David was much more imperative than-

Something glinted in the second drawer in the dim lighting just as he was moving to close it. There, nearly buried by a pair of black shorts- was that-?

_Was that a_ **_knife?_**

Suspicious now, Daniel threw all logic out of the window as quickly as he'd regained it. Fingers latched around the handle of the blade, and before long, he was really wishing he hadn't found it in the first place.

He'd _seen_ this knife before. The elaborate swirls emulating vines and rose thorns on the side of the black handle. The jagged pointed blade itself that appeared to be well maintained and taken care of. The feeling of familiarity as he righted his grip on it.

_This was HIS knife._

Well. One of them. 

His personal ritual knife sat safe and sound in his back pocket. _This_ had been one of the many knives and weapons that he no longer really 'needed', but didn't want to throw away or give away to random strangers. Not to mention David's strict "All Knives Stay in the Kitchen" policy that he enforced with vigor.

There had been too much risk just holding onto his ritual knife. He couldn't afford to keep the others in his collection.

Apparently bringing home things they shouldn't is something Daniel and Max have in common.

He'd given Max one of them so far just to try and play it safe. The kid had been wary at first, but he took it without much of a fuss. Daniel had expected him to use it for a game of darts or something; if not lose it in the park or drop it in a lake. He'd been fine with dooming it to that fate.

He **wasn't** fine with finding it in such good condition, hidden in Max's room underneath his clothes. It just implied more than he really wanted to handle right now.

Shaking his head to get rid of the growing static in the back of his mind, Daniel hurriedly put the knife back where he'd found it. He was good at ignoring things he probably shouldn't ignore. This was no issue. This is fine.

Everything is _fine-_

His hand brushed up against something that definitely _wasn't_ clothing. It would have been so easy to close the drawer back up again and leave the room. It would have been _so_ easy. Too easy. Since when does he ever take the easy way out?

He knew what it was before he even finished fishing it out of the pile. One quick look was all he needed before he was tossing it back in and closing the drawer. As if _that_ would be enough to block out the memories flooding his mind.

As if _that_ would be enough to forget.

_David wanted them to try getting along better with each other. He'd tried everything he knew. Setting up camping trips for the both of them. Giving them daily tasks to complete together on a checklist. Sending them out to buy groceries or simply take walks with only the both of them for company._

_He'd been as anxious as Daniel had been those first few months of him moving into the apartment. That anxiety only worsened with Max's clear opinions on Daniel and what he'd done in the past._

_Years can erase a lot. Just not enough to cover up brainwashing and almost murdering someone when they were ten._

_Max made every day, every little thing, Hell. He sabotaged the camping trips and tried to frame Daniel for it in one way or another. He always 'lost' the checklist of their daily activities and vanished to who-knows-where while Daniel was left trying to explain to David why he hadn't 'tried hard enough' to be friends with the brat._

_He pushed Daniel into the pond when they tried to take David's suggestion and walk and talk. He was a pest whenever he found the opportunity to be. It's a wonder how Daniel had been able to restrain himself and keep from offing the insolent teenager._

_Nothing had been working, much to David's growing dismay. Months passed them all by with quarrel after quarrel, and eventually David had had enough. Daniel refused to be around the apartment much whenever Max was guaranteed to be around. He didn't used to answer every text or call from the man. He didn't used to be as approachable and easy-going._

_However, when David snapped, he snapped. It wasn't in the way you might think, though. There had been no anger or yelling or even any poorly hidden sarcasm._

_No, no. When David is upset, he keeps trying and trying until he gets it right._

_This usually involves increasingly horrible ideas. That's when you need to be afraid._

_"Sports!" he'd declared on that fateful day. "There is NOTHING like getting out into the field and relishing in the air of sportsmanship and the undying trust you put in your teammates! Why, I couldn't think of anything other than camping that could bring two people closer together!"_

_"David, are you trying to get me and Freakshow to be friends, or are you trying to get us to fuck?" Max had the nerve to ask, unfortunately._

_"MAX! Apologize to Daniel right now, young man!"_

_"I'm sorry you like to prey on young kids, Freakshow."_

_David took a deep breath. "Good enough. I_ **_guess._** _"_

_Back then, Daniel hadn't exactly been the most talkative. He was more a fan of the 'speak if spoken to' rule, and it worked just fine in most scenarios. Besides, anything he could have said would have been used against him because Max is a demon._

_"Yeeaahhh, no. You can't seriously expect us to go out and play football or some shit unless you WANT Daniel to end up in the Emergency Room for multiple concussions and brain damage."_

_"Oh, no no, I already thought about that," David reassured off-handedly. "That won't be happening, because I've already bought you two tickets to an upcoming baseball game being held at your school, kiddo!"_

_"You fucking WHAT-"_

_"Max, I won't remind you about your language because I'm sure you know by now, but-"_

_"David, baseball_ **_won't_** _fix my relationship with Daniel, you fucking moron! He's a fucking crazy murderer cultist who just wants to get close enough to us so he can use our blood for a goddamn-"_

_"Why, how thoughtful of you, David!" Daniel interrupted, putting a hand over Max's mouth. "We'll be sure to attend! It sounds like fun!"_

_"Oh, I'm SO glad you think so, Daniel! It's this Saturday at five, so don't be late! Tell me ALL about it! Take pictures!!"_

_"We'll be sure to do that."_

_A meaningful glance at Max was all they needed to seal the deal. Arguing with David was pretty much impossible, and so, like always, they'd settle their differences when they were both far from the apartment. Getting chewed out by a sixteen year old is honestly a much better alternative than standing around for hours trying to move a brick wall._

_Now, however, in the present, Daniel kind of wished he'd continued trying to get that brick wall to budge._

_It was supposed to be just like all of the other attempts. They were supposed to attend and get into a fight, and Max was supposed to trip him on the bleachers. Max was supposed to do everything in his power to make the evening awful, and then they were supposed to go home._

_And maybe that would have happened. Maybe it could have happened if Daniel had just minded his own business. He knew next to nothing about sports and the etiquette around them. Judging by Max's reaction to the whole thing, a school baseball game is nothing to get excited about. Unless you're an enthusiastic parent, of course._

_The game really hadn't meant all that much to the kid. Everything would have been fine if Daniel had just accepted that and didn't look further into it._  
_Everything would have been fine if he hadn't noticed the way Max's eyes shone when a ball was launched into the audience by chance. Everything would have been fine if Max hadn't clearly been interested in the prospect of being a part of the game in some way; or at the very least catching a ball._

_David had wanted them to bond, so he figured he'd been doing the right thing. Someone else, a man, had been the one to end up claiming the prize, and he just simply felt that that wouldn't do._

_Long story short, Daniel found himself gifting the boy the baseball without really stopping to think about it. People these days are so easily intimidated. Acquiring it had been no issue. It all had been no issue._

_The way Max had looked at him, however, had been a large issue. A blaring issue that had the nerve to stare him right in the face after doing what he'd thought was a good deed._

_Despite his cruel disposition, Max had clearly appreciated the effort. For whatever reason, he'd been more content than outraged._

_And for whatever reason, he'd held onto that moment as if he was scared of forgetting it._

All Daniel wanted to do was forget. He didn't need to be feeling so sentimental at the moment. He didn't need to be feeling _any_ of this at the moment.

The apartment is **not** depressing without the kid around. He does **not** miss his annoying antics. He is **not** going to mutilate the culprit behind Max's current condition beyond recognition.

They aren't friends. They aren't acquaintances. They aren't- they aren't _anything._ He is an upstanding member of society who is above murder now. He is above revenge.

Daniel had heard the door creak open. Oddly enough, he couldn't bring himself to really mind it. The soft light of the hallway gave him a bit of solace from the burning sensation in his chest. He didn't know why that was, but he wasn't complaining about it.

He felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist. It felt sort of nice.

"It's okay," David sighed. "I miss him, too."

He didn't have the heart to reveal his true motives.

"Nah. I just think your bonding tactics have finally driven me insane."

David chuckled quietly. "See?? There's nothing you can't accomplish with perseverance~"

"You are an evil mastermind and I don't know how to feel about this."

"Yeah, well." David let a lull in the conversation grow there. Peace and quiet sounded nice right about now. Some relaxation from these periods of madness was favorable to whatever revelation he'd just had about himself and his relationships.

A voice in the back of his mind told him that he was enjoying David's embrace a little _too_ much. That he wasn't allowed to be doing this. Acting like a friend and allowing new people into his life after everything he's done. The person he's been.

He adamantly told the voice to shut up and let him live.

David leaned his head in the crook of Daniel's shoulder. "I really wanna go see him again.."

"David, we've already visited the hospital three times this week. I understand the want, but we should really be focusing on your mental health and-"

" _Pleeeeeaaase???_ " David lifted his head and removed his arms from Daniel's waist, walking around to give him a pathetic pleading look.

Daniel is stronger than that, though.

"We might already be making nuisances of ourselves.."

" _But he's all alooooone, Daaaannyy..! Pleeeaase?? What could it really hurt?_ "

They'd both agreed that a buddy system would be a good idea if either of them planned to visit Max or take walks in scarcely populated areas. If David wanted to go, he _could_ absolutely go alone. That just didn't sit right with Daniel whatsoever.

And it was also then that he realized he broke the buddy system rules by leaving bright and early in the morning to consider his choices of helping out with Max's case. So he's really not in any place to deny David anything, is he.

Darn it. Daniel isn't strong at all.

"Gh-" Stop blushing, you idiot. Stop it. _Stop it._

" _Get in the car, David._ "

" **Yes!** "

"You might want to bring the tea along, too, or something-"

"The tea will be here when we get back- let's go!"

Stumbling along as David dragged him out of the room with a hand on his wrist, Daniel just couldn't find it in himself to ruin David's good mood. Even if they'd already visited ten times that week, he would have still said yes.

He'd probably always say yes to David.

______________________________________________________

The hospital somehow felt much less densely packed than it had on that first night. 

Yes, there were people visiting loved ones, and yes there were people doing their jobs. Perhaps it's just because he's gotten so accustomed to the white walls and white floors, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to mind any of it. The chatter and the atmosphere that the people brought put him at ease.

Maybe managing to feel tranquil in a hospital wasn't such a good thing. It was all he had to avoid having a panic attack of his own, though, so he chose not to dwell on it. There was someone much more important he needed to focus on. 

Max has been steadily recovering the past few days. Since he returned so recently, no one was anticipating much of anything in the coming week or two from the boy. He'd need plenty of time to rest and mull over the recent events just like anyone else before his release could even be discussed. 

He could tell that the pure uncertainty was bothering David worse than the situation itself. Typically when you're assaulted or kidnapped (in this case, both), you'd be able to give at least a vague description of your assailants. You aren't always expected to see their faces, but body types, hair color, voices- those are all a given. Even if you didn't notice one of them, you noticed the other. 

Max had... nothing. True, the kid phased in and out of consciousness here and there and thus wasn't the most reliable source at the moment, but he could never describe a single aspect of his captors. It was always just 'I don't know' or 'I can't remember'. 

It was.. ~~concerning~~ frustrating. Yet again, patience was going to have to be the key to gaining much-needed information, and yet again he despised it. 

Knowing this, knowing all of this, Daniel forced himself to set it all aside for the time being. He hadn't come for anything relating to the case. He'd come to offer support for David. He'd come to be supportive. 

"Heya, buddy," David greeted with a gentle smile, taking a seat beside the bed and laying a hand on top of Max's. 

By some miracle, Max had been awake and fairly coherent when they arrived. His voice was quiet and a bit raspy, and it was obvious that thinking and staying awake for long periods of time were difficult for him. Still, he was up and kicking, so that had to count for something. 

Daniel remained by the foot of the bed; having pulled up a chair for himself so he could give David and Max some space. He knew when to interject himself into their lives and when not to. At least, he tried to know. 

"How're you holding up, kiddo?" 

"Shitty," Max commented with a rough grin. David just kind of rolled with it.

"Yeah, I saw that one coming.. But, uh- A-At least you're safe now, eh?? At least everything's okay, now.." 

Max, despite clearly being concussed to some degree, was a smart kid. He saw through David's act without needing to try. 

"Camp Man, did'ja come here to comfort me, or yourself?" 

David laughed guiltily. "A-A little bit of both.. I guess.." 

"David, I swear.. If you start crying, I'm gonna make Freakshow carry you outta here." 

Daniel perked up slightly at hearing his nickname being used by the proper person. "Hey- I will do no such thing." 

"Yeah, okay." Max rolled his eyes before sighing a bit and easing into his pillow. "Whaaatever you say, loser.." 

Daniel felt a smile tugging at his lips. He didn't try to stop it. 

Max must _definitely_ be concussed, because there is no way they're having friendly banter like it's normal right now. 

"I-I'm _not_ going to cry, you two.. I-I'm just-" 

"You sure?" he and Max questioned at nearly the same time. David looked between them in minor shock before quickly shaking his head in order to dismiss it. 

" _Yes._ I'm quite sure. I-It was only the one time..!"

"Five times, David," Daniel reminded softly. 

"Six or seven counting the times you've prob'ly cried at home," Max pitched in. 

"No, it was more like ten-"

"That's enough, guys!" David warned, all in good fun. In spite of the obvious tense circumstances that brought them all there at the moment, it was nice to see that even David could find the time to laugh at himself. 

It was nice being able to talk to Max like this again. To not have to worry about walking on eggshells, or have to worry about always needing to be a shoulder to lean on for someone.  
Blending into the background and yet never feeling truly forgotten is something that he thinks suits him. Not exactly a member of the family, but hopefully no longer an enemy. 

As funny as it sounded, these hospital visits granted him some form of respite from the daily turmoils. For a few moments, just a few moments, they could all act like everything was okay and that nothing ever happened.

No place for arguments. No place for petty hatred. 

Daniel couldn't help but to admire the pile of 'get well soon' cards stacked on the desk beside Max's bed. At least five of those were his and David's. 

That tidbit was.. important. It was important to him. 

Wiping something from his eyes (undoubtedly tears, the liar), David shook his head at something Daniel didn't dwell on. 

"You two are so alike, I swear." 

"Hey," Max groaned, shooting a weak glare his father's way. "You better fucking take that back, you piece of shit." 

"I would agree with Max," Daniel added, "but that would confirm your statement." 

"Don't listen to Freakshow. He's terminally stupid." 

"Ouch. Harsh. Who gave you my medical records?" 

Max gave him a half-hearted smirk. "I ain't tellin~" 

"David, I don't mean to alarm you, but I think your son is pure evil." 

"Yeah," David replied with a tender smile. "I know." 

"Aw shit.. I know what you two are doing.. You're giving me _affection. Disgusting._ " 

"I am," David corrected. "Daniel's just teasing you." 

"Maybe that's how I show affection?" Daniel countered. 

" _Even worse. Leave._ " 

"Would if I could, buddy." 

" _That's a lie, you motherfucker._ "

"You're right and I'm not sorry." 

Yes. He missed this. Admitting it now likely wouldn't do any harm. He missed Max. For better or worse, the kid has somehow made him a place in Daniel's life, and it's going to be the death of him, he's calling it now. 

He felt okay with that, though. It might be the exhaustion talking, as he's pretty sure he hasn't slept in a solid forty-eight hours or so, but he could live with his current situation. It's not like it was permanent or anything anyway, so he saw it as harmless. 

Harmless affection. An oxymoron if he's ever heard one. 

"Y'know," Max began after a couple of beats of silence between them. "It's.. _really_ fuckin' hard to tell if I'm just talking out of my ass here or what, but..." 

At once the air between them all thickened. Daniel noticed David tense out of the corner of his vision. 

"I dunno, but I _think_ one of the guys had like a uh... a mask..? It was like a fuckin'.." 

"A," Daniel tentatively started. "A ski.. mask..?" 

"Yeah- I mean.. maybe..? Or maybe it was just really fuckin' dark.." 

Daniel blinked a few times, tilting his head to the side as he processed the small piece of information. It surely wasn't anything major to go off of, but for some reason the word 'ski mask' had come to mind. Peculiar. 

"O-Oh, well! That's.. That's _good!_ " David stammered, trying to adjust to the abrupt news. "Anything you can remember is good, Max! Just don't strain yourself." 

"I don't remember shit, David. I just know that I don't remember shit, and it's fucking infuriating." 

"Sounds like it," Daniel mumbled; more to himself than anything. He could sympathize with a lack of memory. Most of his time back at the compound was only scattered about in bits and pieces. Normally things that should be easy to recognize or recall were nothing short of a struggle, now. 

And that applied for recent things, too. Daniel liked to think that he had a perfect photographic memory, as that was the way that he was _used_ to operating. His mind sure liked to catalog things and remind him of them at the most inopportune times, but it was far more scrambled than he liked. 

The fact that the word 'ski mask' came to him so quickly was probably a sign of him being forgetful again. He couldn't be certain, though. 

"Hmm... Max..?"

"What?" 

"This might sound like a silly question, but are you _sure_ that you can't remember how many people were responsible for your kidnapping?"

Max blinked slowly in his general direction, clearly unimpressed with his question for one reason or another. Honestly, he couldn't blame the kid. 

"Okay, point taken. You don't have to answer that." 

"Did you.. have an idea of who might have done this, Daniel?" David asked as if he had the answers swimming around in his head. How he wished that was the case. 

"No.. I just-" 

Bright purple eyes. A woman with a petite frame and sharp features. _"They were wearing- what do you call them?? They had on hoodies over their faces; all men, I believe. Four of 'em."_

No... No, there's no way that has any correlation. If you're going to be committing a crime, then you're _going_ to hide your face. That's just common sense. He's trying to solve a case- not become a conspiracy theorist. 

Even still, he couldn't shake the thought of Neil nagging him for withholding this discovery. No matter how minute, they were all desperate enough to want- _need_ it for their cause. 

_"Look. Do you have any better ideas??"_

No. No he did not. 

But he had a hunch. A terrible one, yes, but a hunch. 

"I just wanted to make sure that Max was certain. That's all." 

David deflated a bit, but Daniel couldn't feel guilty about it. As much as he expects himself to have all of the answers ready, he knew when to go easy on himself. Working with next to nothing is never easy; even if you're used to it.

"O-Oh, well, that's okay, too. I-I don't think even the police have the faintest idea right now, haha.. But- But it's only been a couple of days, so-"

"David. Chill." 

"Max is right, for once," Daniel annexed, albeit reluctantly. "We should all just 'chill'-"

"You are officially dead to me, Freakshow-" 

"-and let the police work their magic on this issue. At least until Max manages to recall some more important details."

"No. Just for that, I am going to force myself to block out this entire conversation and then some. Fuck you." 

"If you're okay enough to be upset with me, then you're okay enough to recover from amnesia, Max."

"Go suck a-"

"Okay, guys, let's not start some kind of spat..!" David interrupted anxiously. "We're all friends, here!"

"That's debatable-"

David sternly pointed a finger at Daniel. " _Friends._ " 

Well. How could he fight against such an airtight argument?

But yes, in all sincerity, he was definitely going to have to say something about this to the kids. Looking into Ms.Well's case seemed much more appealing than acting on the current plan of questioning Steven and Lindsey Scott. Beating a dead horse never gets anyone anywhere- let alone two. He'd take shots in the dark if it meant he didn't have to keep pretty much threatening kids.

He was reluctant to get into anything that might prove genuine difficulty, though. Going around and interrogating school children was harmless in and of itself so long as you didn't threaten or physically harm them. Interrogating a grown woman when you aren't even associated with the police force at all just screamed moronic. 

Luckily, moronic is kind of his thing, if any of his recent actions were a tell. He'd.. look into it. It might be worth at least one discussion.

It really wouldn't be the most outlandish thing he's done, so it's not like it was out of the question. 

It _is_ for David's sake, after all. That makes it automatically good and okay. He just has to keep telling himself that. 

"Alright, alright. _'Friends.'_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel: "Stop saying i have feelings."  
> Daniel: "People who have feelings are dumb and cowards."  
> Daniel: " _And I am NOT a coward._ " 
> 
> Hey, guys, sorry for the very delayed post! This chapter is the absolute longest out of any of the currently posted, and as such, it went through like two different re-writes imao. Also sorry not sorry, the next chapter is kinda Daniel-centric, too. 
> 
> Two more chapters until the end of Act 2! Get hype!


	9. Act 2: Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter discusses a topic that may be uncomfortable for some people, so even though it's already a content warning in the tags, I'll be letting you guys know now before you read. 
> 
> Max's rape is referenced more than once. Not in great detail or anything, but just so you guys know!

Neil drummed his fingers along the table; brows knitted in deep thought. He always does that when he's really wracking his brain for answers to something. Neil is a smart guy, and someone that Nikki really looks up to in a lot of ways. 

She'd like to think that they'd grown closer over the years since the first day they met at camp. She realizes that sometimes her peppy spontaneous personality isn't usually appreciated in many social situations, and she knows that can be too much to handle at times.  
Even so, Neil's always stayed right by her side. He's been one of her closest friends for going on seven years straight now. The possibility of that streak breaking wasn't exactly something she was _trying_ to think about. 

Nikki snuck a glance at the mess of papers laid out on the table. The week after Max went missing, they hadn't hesitated to begin forming theories and obsessively writing down all the little bits of information they had that they thought might help. The result was essentially stack upon stack of near incomprehensible unusable gibberish. 

With how intensely Neil was glaring down at the individual notes, she was surprised he hadn't set the whole catastrophe aflame. Either metaphorically or literally. She's seen him do some crazy stuff during one of his rants. 

She's seen a lot of crazy stuff in general. With her friends. 

Nikki bit her lip, eyes darting back up to Neil's face. He wasn't paying her any attention, thankfully, so he hadn't said a thing about her anxious toying with the pencil. She rolled it back and forth across the table to his rhythm, hoping he was too distracted to notice and snap at her for it.

Max should be here right now. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't _like_ thinking about it. It was inevitable, though, when you have a gaping hole in your chest that only you can see or feel. 

Making light of this whole situation had been her one escape. Pretty much her _only_ escape, really. Dwelling on the seemingly endless list of negatives that the world will throw at you is a pretty good way to get yourself into a depressive funk. She knows this. A five year old could understand this.

And yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from Neil. She couldn't stop herself from taking in every minute detail of his face, the wrinkles in his clothes. The way the pale light of the computer screen behind him illuminated his brown curls and turned them amber. The way he absently bit the back of his hand as his eyes tirelessly skimmed the poor excuses of information.

A large part of her wanted to soak it all in. To memorize absolutely everything about him just in case he decided to leave, too. Just in case they get into some kind of fight, and suddenly he doesn't want to see her anymore. 

An even larger part of her expected him to yell at her at any given moment; for any possible reason. _'Nikki, you're being too loud- I'm trying to think!' 'Nikki, could you stop bouncing your leg like that?? It's annoying.' 'Nikki, come on, I can't concentrate when you do that.'_

She wasn't doing anything that would warrant that kind of reaction (she hoped), but being scolded was par for the course in a day of the life of Nicolette Natasha Valentine. _Yaaay._

"I don't know," Neil muttered miserably. Her hand messing around with the pencil stalled.

"Hm?" She darted her eyes away at once, pretending to have been looking at the load of nonsense as well.

"I don't know what to make of this shit, Nikki. We've got next to nothing plausible, here. Just a bunch of stupid 'what ifs' with nothing backing them up." 

Neil leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what the fuck I was expecting, anyway. We already established that we don't know what the hell we're doing." 

Nikki pouted, propping an elbow up onto the table. "Aww, don't say _that_ , Neil! I'm sure we have to have _something_ here! Like, uh."

She reached forward to snatch a couple of notes from the stack. Even in the poor lighting, she was able to make out some of the scrawls pretty well. Unfortunately, the more she skimmed the bullet points and hastily written thoughts, the more she came to realize that Neil's handwriting was just about the only _salvageable_ aspect of it all. 

He took the time to make sure he was legible. Nikki just kind of wrote as quickly as possible so she could get her idea down and move onto the next one.  
If she squinted, though, she could make out a few of hers. _'The old lady across the street could be involved. She owns a gun'._ Right next to it was Neil's neat print. _'Nikki, no'_ with the no underlined heavily. 

Brows furrowing, Nikki turned the paper over, hoping to find something worth their while. Realistically, she was certain that Neil's assessment was pretty much spot on. They were pressed for solid leads outside of _possibly_ Lindsey and Steve. That was the main reason why they wanted Daniel's help in looking into that, after all. 

Thinking about Daniel had her looking towards the staircase without stopping to question the action. Neil caught on fast.

"Yeah, I'm sure that circus sideshow is gonna pop up anytime now. He's kinda late, actually. You'd think a carbon copy of David would be more punctual." 

Despite herself, Nikki smiled. She wasn't happy with his tone. "Don't be rude, Neil."

"How is that 'being rude'? Just stating the facts." 

She stuck out her tongue at him, flipping the paper back over and moving onto another. "I know he _looks_ a lot like David-"

"That's an understatement-"

"-but he's his own person, and we need to respect that." 

Neil rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Respect the serial killer. Nothing wrong about that."

She kicked him underneath the table. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough for him to get the message. 

Neil huffed with clear annoyance, yet chose not to comment on it. Instead, he seemed to listen to her for once and changed gears. 

"How's the uh, the _search_ goin'?" 

Being reminded of her daunting task, Nikki let out an uncomfortable hum and resumed looking over her notes. She knew what Neil was doing, and she wasn't about to fall for it. No way was she about to admit that they were stuck. They both knew it, but that didn't mean it had to be said out loud. 

"Uhhhhh.. Wh-What about the um. The uh- _What about Mrs.Wendell??_ She might have something up her sleeve!"

"Yes, Nikki. Our thirty year old history teacher kidnapped Max and sexually assaulted him. You're spot on."

" _It's a possibility!_ Mrs.Wendell **hates** Max!"

"Okay. Why'd she ra-"

She quickly waved him off before he could finish that sentence. " _Okay, okay, bad idea, I get it._ "

Neil snickered, leaning himself back onto the table. "No, no, I'm interested in your theory. Please, tell me more."

"No, shut up, I'm thinking." 

" _C'mooooon._ Show me what you've got going on in that big brain of yours." 

Nikki shook her head. "'Big brain'?? _That's_ a first. Shut up, I'm trying to read." 

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit. They don't let just _anyone_ into honors math, anyway." 

"Yeah, well." What a jerk. Flattering her so she gets distracted. Definition of a dick move. It's like he doesn't even _want_ to find the people who hurt Max. 

"'Yeah, well'? That's all you have to say for yourself?" 

" _Rea-ding._ " 

"I didn't know you needed to be silent to read."

Nikki stuck out her tongue and made a sour face in Neil's direction. She wouldn't keep taking his vile bait. She had a case to solve, whether he liked it or not. 

Thankfully, Neil seemed to take the 'hint' and leave her alone for the time being. Not that that ended up doing any real good, though.  
No matter how many times she re-read the same sentences over again, no matter how many times she checked and re-checked the map, she always wound right back up at square one. 

The mailman couldn't be to blame for Max's condition because he claims to have never even seen Max in person before. None of their teachers could have done it because even though a handful of them _really_ don't like Max, she doubted they'd be able to pull something like a kidnapping off. Especially at a crowded party full of students who would undoubtedly recognize them. 

Terry from accounting couldn't have done it because she's about 90% certain he has a restraining order on her now and she can't afford to look into him more. She'd have to double check Mr.Curtis, though. If there's anything she's learned from those crappy crime shows mom always watches on TV, it's that the creepy old dude can never be trusted. 

Those shows _also_ always pretty much follow the exact same formula. The guy who you think did it at first is almost always the guy who actually did it. 

Which led her back to square one again. 

God, what she'd give to be able to go back up to Thompson and beat the crap out of him until he confessed. Max had told them that he didn't think Thom had anything to do with his kidnapping. _"Thompson's an asshole, but not THAT much of an asshole"_ , he'd said. 

She didn't believe it, though. None of them did. 

She'd known Thompson was a scummy liar, but hearing just how _nervous_ he'd been when Daniel confronted him left no doubts in her mind. Jeffrey is a lot of things, and a coward is absolutely one of them, but his reaction to the interrogation was just.. _weird._

It didn't make any sense to her. If Thompson was the culprit (or one of the culprits), you'd think he'd fight harder to be less of an obvious suspect. She had never been as close as Max had been with the guy, so maybe she could be wrong, but Thom had never really been known as a bad actor. He could lie through his teeth every day of his life and no one would be able to tell. 

Well, anyone with a broken bullshit detector and half of the facts, that is. 

However, Thom was a crafty son of a gun. She also had to take into account the fact that maybe he _had_ been lying during the interrogation, but not in the way they all had assumed.  
He could very well be trying to throw them off track by making them suspect him. He could be backing someone else up. If that is the case, though, why would he do such a thing? 

Why would they be so cruel to Max? Why would they go the extra mile? Wasn't keeping him prisoner somewhere enough?? 

Nikki brought the eraser of the pencil up to her mouth, gnawing away at it as she stared out into nothingness. Daniel could surely detect deception from a mile away. He'd been just as disconcerted by Thom's behavior as they all had. If he was thinking along the same lines as her, he hadn't said it, though. 

He hadn't really said much of anything. Not that she was expecting much on the first day, but still, it would have been nice. Pretty much anything would be nice right about now. The looming threat of monotony has been inching closer to them, day by day.  
They were teetering precariously on the edge. Any moment now, they would be plunged into obscurity, and Max wouldn't be able to count on them to save the day anymore. 

She'd have no idea _what_ to do, then. Sitting back and letting the cops handle everything was the obvious choice, and she hated it.  
Max may have been an even bigger jerk than usual to them, but they had to face it: Neither of them had been the greatest friends to him, either. They could have been more understanding about whatever he was going through. They could have reached out to David a bit more- maybe scheduled some kind of intervention. 

They could have done.. _**something.** _ And they didn't. If anything, her lack of any real action and Neil's refusal to be patient hadn't been extinguishing the growing embers. They'd been feeding them. 

The fiery aftermath fell on their shoulders, now. They owe this to Max.

Now, if only she could actually _do_ something about that debt. Right back to square one all over again, it seems.

This was pointless. The 'information' they'd gathered wasn't information. It was a blank abyss. She was staring at a blank abyss and acting like everything was fine.  
This isn't fine. If Steve and Lindsey don't cough up something that they can actually _use_ , they're done for. 

With all of their hopes riding on something so unlikely, what other choice did they have than to grasp at straws? 

It was frustrating, though. Far too frustrating. Nikki would never say it out loud, but she wanted to give up. She wanted to just throw in the towel and let the cops do their jobs. In fact, she might have just done it. She was being backed up between a wall and a hard place, and she didn't think she could handle the pressure.

_I'm sorry, Max_ , was slowly becoming the only thing on her mind. _I'm so sorry for not being a better friend. I'm sorry for being such a moron._

_I'm sorry I wasn't better-_

"Boop," Neil said, interrupting her disparaging thoughts with a poke on her nose. 

She started, snapping her head up immediately and blinking the stars from her eyes. _Wow_ , had she zoned out. 

Bringing a hand to her nose in slight shock, Nikki eventually managed to redirect her gaze to her friend. He'd been so quiet and upset before. She figured it wasn't any stretch of the imagination to assume he wouldn't be in the mood for jokes or anything silly.

Judging by the grin on his face, she was wrong to assume that. Very wrong. 

"Did you just-?" 

"You started spacing out on me. What else was I supposed to do?" 

"No," she hesitated for a moment, "no I wasn't! I was reading!!"

"Reading.. _what?_ Invisible graffiti on my wall?"

" _Shut up, I was reading! _"__

__"Yikes. Looks like it's time to put these bad boys away."_ _

__" _Nnnoooooo!_ " she protested, gathering up the mound of papers as Neil reached forward to take them away from her. _ _

__And yes. She _did_ have the audacity to hiss at him. _ _

__"I can figure something out- let me figure something out!!"_ _

__Neil pulled his hand away, brows shooting up in sudden realization. "Double yikes. Is that _really_ how I've been acting this past couple of days?" _ _

" _Goooooo-D!_ You were so _unbearabllllle..!_ It's MY turn to be grumpy, now, Neil! _My turn. Let me have this._ "

__"Christ, I sound like you now, and I'm sorry, but no. You're getting really worked up over this. It's kinda painful to watch. Lemme just..."_ _

__The moment Neil attempted to nab the papers from her again was the moment she abandoned ship. Yes, she literally threw herself off of her chair whilst holding the mess against her chest. Not her proudest moment, but dang did it feel appropriate._ _

__She **knew** she could get something feasible out of their balderdash if she was only given just a couple more minutes. She _knew_ she could.  
Unfortunately, Neil didn't hold those same sentiments. He read her body language like the back of his hand, and had already moved to intercept her escape. _ _

__His intentions were good, but the result was pretty much the opposite. Before she knew it, she was colliding into him and they both were going down in an uncoordinated mess._ _

__In the highly unnecessary tumult, Nikki had lost her grip on more than two or three of the papers. So she didn't only land on top of Neil. She _also_ littered the floor with the very (being honest with herself) garbage she'd been aiming to keep close to her person. _ _

__What a Nikki move. She wondered, for a moment, why she'd even expected that to go any other way. As if she could actually _succeed_ at anything, no no._ _

__Blinking up at the ceiling, she gave herself enough time to adjust to her new predicament before allowing the laughter to overcome her. It was small, at first. A chortle here, a chuckle there. It wasn't long at all before she was openly giggling at her own reckless behavior._ _

__Neil didn't hesitate to join her. He didn't hesitate for a second, and it was so nice. The pealing sounds echoing off of the walls brought her the kind of joy she'd been so certain she'd all but lost. It was terrible. It was wonderful._ _

__For the first time in her life, she was glad she screwed something up. She was glad she'd made such a big fuss over nothing. Maybe now they could stop being so uptight all the time. Max's case was important, but not as important as their sanity, she finally decided._ _

__"We are.. _so_ stupid," she mumbled breathlessly. _ _

__" _You_ might be," Neil shot back. "I am but a simple man. A simple man trying to stop a scampering _thief._ " _ _

__"Yeah, yeah. It was stupid. I'm stupid. Let's get off of the floor. It's dirty down here."_ _

__"Okay. But I'm watching you, _thief._ " _ _

__She tried to hide her smile with her hand. An impulsive bark of a laugh gave her away. "Shut up."_ _

__"Whatever the thief wishes."_ _

__Pulling herself back up to her feet and dusting herself off, Nikki offered a hand to Neil. The grin he threw her way before taking it was pretty much her definition of magical. Whad'ya know? Wishes _do_ come true."_ _

__"Thanks for breaking my fall, 'ya big nerd."_ _

__"Hey, you've done the same for me. It's what friends do."_ _

__"True. You know what else is true, though?"_ _

__"Probably not, so what?"_ _

__"We're short a friend. Wanna go find him and give him heck for making us wait?"_ _

__Yep. As expected, her comment broke the happy atmosphere. Not fully, so she wouldn't say _'break'._ More like 'chipped'. She chipped it just enough for some of that good ol' negativity to shine back through. _ _

__Neil rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping. He trailed his eyes over to the papers scattered about the floor._ _

__"Not really. Especially since we're not short **one** 'friend'..." _ _

__Nikki wouldn't be dragged back down that easily. She placed her hands on her hips and assumed a confident stance, lifting her chin high._ _

__"And we're gonna avenge that."_ _

__Neil sucked in a breath and looked off to the side, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. " _Are_ we, though..?"_ _

__" _Hey_ ," she began, snapping a finger in front of his face to get his attention. "We _will._ What, you don't believe me??" _ _

__"I-" Neil blanched. "I _do._ It's just that- Nikki, we have no leads. What _can_ we do right now?" _ _

__She waved him off. " _Psh._ Leads shmeads. We don't need _leads_ in order to snoop around. We never have!" _ _

__Neil still didn't seem convinced. His mouth was turned down into a frown, now, and it was making her more anxious by the second. Not wanting yet another relapse, she reached forward and grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt._ _

__"Hey, c'mon. You can go yell at Daniel. That'll make you feel better, right?"_ _

__Neil didn't budge from his spot. He was staring down at the papers an awful lot. She didn't like the look on his face._ _

__"Eh... Nikki...?"_ _

__Oh, she didn't like that tone of voice._ _

__"Do you.. remember when we went to go visit Max the other night?"_ _

__Oh, she did not like that question. She let go of Neil's sleeve and let her arm drop like it was dead weight._ _

__"..." She was kind of scared to answer. Is that bad..? "Yeah?? What- about it?"_ _

__"And.. you remember what he said? About the uh- about his-" Neil struggled to find the right words. " _'Memory issue'?_ " _ _

__How could she forget? That was only a day or two ago- three days tops. She didn't like where Neil was going with it, but yeah, she remembered._ _

_"Shit, it's like- It's like you're fucking sifting through sand, but the sand's a fucking disgusting mushy mess that you don't wanna touch, and you don't have any gloves, so you're fucked"_ , Max had described it as.

_"I know I was in- a building?? And there were people, fucking obviously, but.._ _**God**_ _, my head hurts. Can you guys bother me about this later?"_

__

__Neither of their hopes had been all that high when it came to getting new information, so Max's replies to their questions were par for the course. It didn't make them any less concerning, though. And it didn't make what Neil was trying to say any less foreboding._ _

__"Just cut to the chase, Neil."_ _

__"J-Just- What if Max genuinely just _doesn't have_ any helpful information??" he finally spilled, voice cracking with stress. _ _

__"He suffered a head injury. Wh- _What if_ he's never going to remember anything that we or the police can use? A-And if they can't manage to link the se- _the- the seme-_ " _ _

__"You can just say cum, Neil," she interrupted. Maybe a bit too bluntly, though, because Neil quickly shook his head and covered his face with his hands._ _

__" _Y-YEAH. THAT._ Wh-What if they can't-?" _ _

__"Wow. For a man of science, I figured you'd be more comfortable with being technical about this kinda stuff."_ _

__" _**Too soon, Nikki.**_ " He was right. She shouldn't be trying to add some humor to this conversation. _ _

__"Sorry, sorry. I- It wasn't funny, I'll stop."_ _

__"Th- _Thank you._ Just.. Nikki, I know I probably sound like a paranoid freak or something, but these are things we **have** to consider, here. Aren't you the _least bit_ worried about those possibilities??" _ _

__"I am," she stated at once. "But what do they matter? Really?"_ _

__Neil opened his mouth to protest. She raised a hand to stop him._ _

__"Hear me out, here."_ _

__He seemed reluctant to do it, but after some deliberation, Neil closed his mouth and allowed her to continue._ _

__"Everything has risks, Neil. Literally everything. At any given moment, things could just.. go up in smoke, y'know?" It took him a moment, but Neil nodded along; albeit apprehensively. "So what??"_ _

__"So what if Max never remembers anything we can use to get us new leads? So what if the police don't have any DNA evidence to go off of? Does that mean we're gonna stop investigating?"_ _

__"Nikki, you already know Max's stance on Thom and his cronies' involvement. The hell are we gonna investigate if the most obvious suspect is off the table? We were beating a dead horse as it is; two if you count Lindsey and Steve."_ _

__"Yeah, but what if Max is _wrong?_ " _ _

__"Nikki-"_ _

__"Maybe Thom didn't **do** it, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have been involved, somehow! Like Daniel said!" _ _

__Neil sent an incredulous glare her way. " _Daniel_ may be good at weeding out liars, but all he has are hunches. You're not seriously-"_ _

__"All **WE** have are hunches!" she shot back. It surprised her by how angry she'd gotten so quickly, but dang it if she wasn't sick of Neil's attitude towards Daniel. _ _

__"You can't yell at me for BASIC observation, Neil!"_ _

__"I'm _not!_ " he claimed with a defensive raise of his hands. "I'm just _saying_ that none of us really know what to do right now, and that maybe we should start considering the fact that we're in way over our heads on this one." _ _

__She wasn't buying that excuse for a second. Neil's concerns were valid, she'd give him that much. It was all she was going to give him, though. He's hated Daniel from day one since he's been staying with David and Max. He's turned up his nose at Daniel's general existence even after the guy is trying _so hard_ to help them out. _ _

__It isn't right. She would be a hypocrite if she said she didn't- HADN'T hated Daniel at some point in her life. She'd be even more of a hypocrite if she said she didn't still have nightmares about his first day at camp sometimes._ _

__But she knew to look past that. She wasn't trusting of the guy's intentions 24/7, and yeah she had her own suspicions, but she knows not to let that all blind her from reality._ _

__Daniel is back. He's trying his best to make up for what he did. Neil needs to see that._ _

__Nikki was at a loss for words at this point. Anything she could say to defend Daniel would likely be shot down before she could blink. There was nothing she _could_ say. Unbelievable how quickly a conversation can sour just from the simplest of topics, huh? _ _

__She hadn't realized just how watery her eyes had gotten. She couldn't cry. Not now; not here. The tears were wiped away on her arm without a second thought._ _

__"Nikki..." Neil's tone had changed. He knew he screwed up. He wasn't sorry for what he was insinuating, though. She already knew that much, and it made her just want to cry more._ _

__"The whole _reason_ we let him help us," she paused to clear her throat, "was so we could get more information to _make_ more hunches. I don't understand why you're making a big deal out of this."_ _

__Neil didn't seem to, either. He fought for the words- she watched him. None came, though. She couldn't bring herself to feel bad for being thankful for that.  
Funny how she vowed to be the very thing keeping spirits up, and here she is, losing her own motivation in the process. _ _

The silence that stretched out between them almost made her want to apologize for snapping, despite knowing she was in the right. If left to her own devices long enough, she's certain that she would have. When it came to fighting a bear or taming a wolf pack, she was in her element. Upsetting her friend and remaining firm on said argument that upset said friend? As Max liked to say whenever Neil pitched something preposterous: _"Good fucking luck."_

__Fortunately, she had the strength to bite her tongue long enough to notice a change in Neil's demeanor. Although he was clearly still visibly troubled, his eyes flicked over to something behind her person. The moment realization flashed across his face, he went from vulnerable to guarded, and she knew at once that she could have hope again._ _

Heavy boots met with the floor; a welcoming _'thud'_ accompanying them.

__"Howdy, buckaroos. I seem to be a pretty popular topic of discussion, today. Mind if I butt in, though?"_ _

__" _Daniel!_ " she practically shouted, spinning herself around to flash a smile up at the man. He couldn't have chosen a better time to _'drop'_ in. (Yes, she thought his pun was funny. Shut up.) _ _

__" _Daniel_ ," Neil repeated; groaning rather than joining in on her enthusiasm. _ _

__"Heya! How's-"_ _

__"I'm gonna stop you right there." Neil took a deep breath and lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a migraine. He said his next few words very slowly, and very carefully._ _

__"Would it **kill you** to use the stairs like a _regular_ goddamn person?" _ _

__Nikki felt herself deflate a bit at that. Right. Leave it to Neil to kill the mood. What, were they taking turns in being buzzkills, now?_ _

__Daniel paused in his steps towards them. Blinking absently a few times, he turned his head to look back to the stairs, then back to Neil. He seemed confused for a moment or two, but as soon as Neil's words clicked, _they clicked._ _ _

__Daniel's mouth turned up into a mischievous grin._ _

__"Oh, of course! My apologies, Neil, you are absolutely right. How rude of me. Let me try that again for you."_ _

__Turning around and walking back up the stairs, Daniel stopped only halfway to the door. He took a step as if he was going to actually do what Neil had asked him to, but then unexpectedly launched himself over the rest of the staircase. He stuck the landing._ _

__Neil didn't seem to appreciate that very much._ _

__"Now, as I was saying-"_ _

__"Fuck you."_ _

__" _Woah_ , there, kiddo! The F-word isn't very appreciated-" _ _

__"And you being a _hyperactive kid and not using the FUCKING stairs the way you're SUPPOSED to_ isn't very appreciated!" Neil shouted back. "But go off, I guess! Fucking _lecture me_ on proper etiquette- I dare you!" _ _

__Nikki assumed her role of mediator at once and walked in between them to avoid any sort of physical kerfuffle. You could never really be too safe when it came to either of them, in this case._ _

__Daniel's eyes widened a bit in surprise at Neil's rebuttal. He tilted his head to the side minutely, arms folding behind his back and posture evening itself out.  
The change in body language was more than enough for Neil's confidence to start ebbing away._ _

__As much as Nikki loved her friend, Neil was like a chihuahua when it came to confrontations of any kind. He'd scream and bite and bark all he pleased, but as soon as any real threat or challenge was issued, he'd back off quick smart._ _

__Especially when said challenge is a former cultist with a knife and years of experience in killing people._ _

__"You _dare_ me?" Daniel repeated slowly, as if in minor shock. _ _

__"I-I-" Neil stammered. The stare Daniel was throwing his way must have spooked him more than she'd initially thought. Nikki took a step closer to Neil without thinking. Daniel had only _just_ entered the room, and already things were quickly growing out of control. Leave it to Neil, eh? _ _

__" _Daniel_ ," she warned, holding a hand in front of her person to hopefully ward off any incoming advancements. "Neil didn't mean it! H-He was just-"_ _

__"No, no," Daniel was quick to reassure. He took a step closer, and they both took a step back. "Let the boy talk. He clearly has something he'd like to say to me. Why not say it to my face?"_ _

__Neil was trembling, she could feel it. It became even more evident as he grabbed onto her arm and tried to cower behind her despite her being a few inches shorter than him._ _

__"Daniel," she tried again, "seriously. You're being kinda scary.. Maaaybe save this kinda stuff for later-?"_ _

__" _'Scary'?_ " he repeated again, taking another step forward. "I'm being _scary_ to you two? Gosh, I'm sorry.." _ _

__He certainly didn't sound sorry. Neil pulled her back around to the other side of their planning table in order to get further away from Daniel's person. She didn't really think he was _actually_ going to hurt them, but she also didn't say that out loud. _ _

__While backing up, Nikki accidentally frightened herself by stepping one of the many papers still littered about the floor. The soft crinkle not only made her and Neil jump, but also managed to catch Daniel's attention as well._ _

__He smirked and leaned forward with his third step. Careful and calculated. She didn't want to say predatory, but.._ _

__"I didn't mean to spook either of you, there. I'm just curious, is all. You don't have to run away from me."_ _

__He was definitely backing them up into a literal corner. How she could _not_ at this point? _ _

__Neil seemed to find some ounce of bravery in him, as he took a deep breath before throwing his own retort Daniel's way: "St-Stop being a creepy cunt, then! What ELSE did you expect to happen when you're acting like- like _that?!_ " _ _

__Daniel's smirk turned into a smile. He was finding some sort of cruel enjoyment out of this all, and that fact made Nikki's stomach give an uncomfortable lurch._ _

__What made it all an even deeper layer of terrifying was that Neil appeared to be Daniel's main focus. She was merely something standing in his way. He hadn't really looked or paid much attention to her once._ _

__But he wasn't going to _hurt_ either of them. He's just having a laugh. His sense of humor is probably all messed up from his cult or something. That had to be it. _ _

__Please let that be it._ _

__"Well, you've got me there, I can't lie. But, as luck would have it, that's _actually_ something I've been meaning to talk to you about."_ _

__Neil's bravery streak hadn't ended quite yet. "Wh-What??"_ _

__"Let me rephrase that." Daniel was close enough to the table by now to be able to reach out and touch it. Moving as if he was an animatronic in severe need of oiling, he never looked away from Neil once as he leaned over and gripped the edges of said table._ _

__Nothing happened for a short while. Neither of them had enough nerve to say anything, but Daniel was clearly waiting for something. Nikki hated the fact that she was sweating._ _

__She also hated the fact that she jolted when Daniel knocked the pencil off of the table in one abrupt motion. Neil whimpered behind her, his grip on her arm tightening._ _

__Daniel's eyes shone. " _**Fear.**_ "_ _

__Neil had undoubtedly lost his courage at this point, so she found it for him. "Wha- What about it..??"_ _

__"Well, it's kind of a setback, isn't it?" Daniel replied with a shrug. He hasn't blinked in a long time. "When you really think about it, fear is unnecessary. Like most emotions that aren't positive, of course."_ _

___Oh god, is he going to go on a cult-related tangent?? Is he reverting back to his brainwashed ways???_ _ _

__"It hinders your abilities and messes with your perception. For example: You two _probably_ think I'm gonna do something drastic, like- haha, like slit your throats and toss your bodies in a river." _ _

__" _Awfully specific example_ ," Neil squeaked out. _ _

__"Is it? You tell me."_ _

__"W-Wait," Nikki interrupted. "Wait, does this- does that mean you're **not** gonna kill us..?" _ _

__Daniel leaned back and straightened his posture once more in an effort to be less threatening. "Oh goodness gracious, no! Whatever would I do _that_ for? We're all friends, here, aren't we?"_ _

__"Friends working towards a similar cause?"_ _

__Although she didn't quite trust his words and tone of voice, Nikki allowed herself to exhale and let the tension leave her body. All at once she wanted to yell at herself for going against her very reasoning for being upset with Neil in the first place._ _

___Of course_ Daniel wasn't going to hurt them. _Of course_ he wouldn't, because he's trying to be _better_ , and he _cares_ about them. Why else would he be trying to find whoever hurt Max in the first place?? _ _

__It all seemed so obvious now, but unfortunately Neil wasn't on the same wavelength. He wasn't releasing her arm anytime soon, and she didn't have the heart to tear herself away from him._ _

__Still smiling to himself, Daniel turned away from them both for a moment to begin tidying up the forgotten notes. He stilled to skim a few of them as he picked them up, but didn't make any comments. He didn't say a single thing until he'd successfully gathered up every last paper and set the stack back onto the table._ _

__Neither she nor Neil necessarily wanted to break the silence, and she was about 95% sure that the corner they'd backed themselves up into was now the safety corner. The safety corner where everything is okay and no one is allowed to be irrationally afraid ever._ _

__"David and I were at the hospital last night," he said after what could have been five minutes. Maybe more, maybe less. "We were visiting Max, and, well, the kid said the _strangest_ thing." _ _

__He paused for a moment, adjusting the papers without really needing to. " _Strange_ , only because it almost came out of nowhere. Really peculiar." _ _

__He raised his head to resume direct eye contact with Neil. Neil flinched back in response._ _

__"He said that, he's not certain, but he _believes_ his captors were wearing ski masks. Fancy that, eh?" _ _

__Nikki couldn't help but to perk up at the news. Despite her nerves and her still-racing heart, that- that was **great** news! Incredible news!!  
They had something viable that could send them on their way to a new lead! They had some semblance of hope, after all! _ _

__Of course, as he does with all good things, Neil had to butt in and squash the joy like he got paid for it._ _

__"S- _So??_ H-How does THAT warrant scaring us half to death?!" _ _

__Daniel's right eye twitched slightly. Neil suddenly didn't know how to speak English._ _

__"Inquisitive young man, aren't you, Neil? You like to think? Interested in the sciences?" Daniel gestured over to a nearby computer screen. The desktop was an image of the classic 'Keep Calm and Do Science', but spelled out with elements on the periodic table._ _

__"Those are valuable traits to have. However, I can't help but to find myself a little _concerned_ for you. I mean, detective work? Isn't that a bit.. _dangerous?_ " _ _

__Nikki stiffened. She had thought, _hoped_ , that the tensions would die down now that Daniel wasn't actively being intimidating. She understood now, though, that she had been foolish to hope. _ _

__Neil rose from his crouched position behind her; still shaking, but gaining courage ever so slowly. "S- So?? Wh-Who cares?"_ _

__"Why, _I do_ , of course! If we're going to be a team, isn't it only natural that I would help to look out for my teammates?" _ _

__"Wh-What does that have to do with-"_ _

"There might come a time where our potential leads, well, _lead_ us into a dangerous situation or position. In moments like those, we'll all need to be able to know how to handle ourselves in case we get split up. Wouldn't you agree?"

__Neil bit his tongue. Nikki was starting to see Daniel's point, but that didn't mean she liked it. _Or_ the way he was choosing to get it across. _ _

__"Of course you agree," Daniel continued without waiting for a response. "So, the question remains: **Are** we all ready to face a scenario like that? Or do we need practice before that day comes?"_ _

__Daniel let his words take a few moments to sink in before taking another glance down at the stack of notes in front of him._ _

"If you both were frightened so easily by me, then I'm just going to go ahead and say we need a little bit of work before we're ready to delve into the _serious_ stuff."

__"W-Wait, wait, wait," Neil spoke up, raising his hands and taking a tentative step forward. Nikki was internally thankful that her arm wasn't being crushed anymore._ _

"Y-You're making less goddamn sense than usual. _'Serious stuff'??_ The hell could be anymore serious than what we've already BEEN doing?! Which, m-might I remind you, _**was fuck all.**_ "

__"My, my, my. Such a foul mouth for such a little _coward._ " _ _

_Yeah, nope, she is NOT liking what he's trying to do. AT ALL._ She's supposed to be helping them AVOID conflicts, and now here Daniel is, trying to start one. Absolutely not.

__Daniel's words got under Neil's skin pretty quickly. Already his hands were balling up into fists at his sides._ _

" _What_ did you just say to me, you freaky bitch?!"

"Oh, am I making you _mad?_ Is the coward getting upset because he can't handle the truth?"

__"Daniel!" Nikki snapped, making her way around the other side of the table to confront the man. "Knock it off right now, mister!"_ _

__"Why should I? Neil's the one getting worked up over nothing. There's nothing wrong with being pathetic, after all. Your death wish is none of my business."_ _

__"The fuck do you want from me, asshole?!" Neil questioned, taking another bold step forward. "The hell are you gaining from being a douche to a fucking _teenager?!_ " _ _

__"Oh, nothing special," Daniel admitted. "Just seeing what you truly are underneath all of that bravado. All of the knowledge in the world couldn't save you from the folly of all of your god's men."_ _

" _WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!_ "

__"Neil! Daniel! Stop shouting before I kick you BOTH in the ribs!"_ _

__"But I have a proposition!" Daniel objected almost indignantly. "I'd like to see if Neil will be able to accept it!"_ _

__" _Then start speaking fucking ENGLISH, you psychopath!_ " _ _

__"I think you'll find that I was. You just aren't listening."_ _

__Nikki was growing increasingly anxious by Neil's increasing proximity to Daniel. She knew that if she didn't intervene now, there would be some kind of fight. She wasn't too keen on mopping up Neil's blood afterwards, either._ _

__"Guys. Last warning. _Calm down._ " _ _

"Oh, I'm _perfectly_ calm. In fact, believe me or not, I have a possible lead that I could pitch if you two would like to hear it. I can't guarantee that you'll like it, though."

__That had Neil and her both backtracking a little. Not by much, but by a little. By now, she was almost shoulder to shoulder (or close enough to it with their height difference) to Neil. They both risked a glance at the other before returning their attention to Daniel; albeit with hesitance._ _

__"What.. is it..?" she asked so Neil wouldn't have to._ _

__Daniel's smile widened unnaturally. He kept his gaze locked firmly on Neil and Neil alone._ _

__"We could go broader than the neighborhood. Are either of you familiar with the string of break-ins down in Pine Grove-?"_ _

__And that was the last straw. Nikki couldn't react fast enough to stop it._ _

__One moment Neil as at her side, and the next he was rushing forward to deck Daniel right in the face._ _

__Everything stopped the moment his fist connected. Nikki could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. Her lungs refused to take in anymore oxygen than what she already had._ _

__Daniel didn't stagger back. He didn't make a noise of any kind. He didn't even _try_ to avoid it. He just stood there and took it like a champ.  
Neil was frozen, too, but for an entirely different reason. The plan behind his violent action must be falling apart as the seconds passed, because Neil was as good as a statue for the time being. _ _

__Not even someone as smart as he was could have predicted Daniel's reaction, she supposed. The guy may be creepy, but he wasn't _superhuman._ He felt **pain** , didn't he..? _ _

Judging by the pure, unadulterated _satisfaction_ she saw in his eyes, she had to begin questioning that.

__It happened slowly. They both took their sweet time, but they thawed themselves out as the dread that had encompassed the room began to pass. Or, well, the first wave of the dread, at least._ _

__The second wave hit the moment Daniel spoke again._ _

__"Your right hook could use some work."_ _

"Wh- Wha- _Wh-_ " Neil stumbled over his own words more than she cared to keep count. Trembling all over again, he took a step away from Daniel. Then another. And another.

Nikki was just.. at a loss. She both wanted to scold Daniel and personally escort him out of Neil's house herself, and gush over how completely and absolutely badass he'd been just there.

She was torn between doing what she wanted to do, and what the right thing was. Mainly because she had no idea which was which.

__"Wh- What-"_ _

__"Go on," Daniel encouraged. "Use your words. You can do it."_ _

__"Wh- What the _**FUCK?!**_ " _ _

__Daniel grinned. "I believed in you from the start, kiddo."_ _

"I- _NO._ The FUCK was **THAT** shit for?! Y- _You-_ "

" _I_ gave you a lesson, kid. If you're going to insist on doing police work, you're going to need to start standing up for yourself more often. As much as I like to flatter myself, I'm _far_ from the scariest thing you could find out there."

She just made up her mind. She wants to gush over how completely and absolutely badass Daniel is.

__"Y-You.. Y-You piece. Of utter. **Dog shit.** " _ _

__"Oh-ho, that's a new one."_ _

__"Y-You made yourself look like a fucking LUNATIC, and proposed a STUPID FUCKING lead _on purpose_ JUST to get me to PUNCH YOU?!" _ _

__"Did that finally click with you, Einstein? Geeze, I didn't think I'd have to write it down for you."_ _

__" _**FUCK YOU.**_ " _ _

__"Oh, and the proposal wasn't part of the lesson. It's genuinely the best lead I've got at the moment."_ _

__" **Oh, so you're stupid AND an asshole! Great!!** " _ _

__Normally, Nikki would be all over the both of them at this point. Even though she currently was trying to process her growing admiration of Daniel, Neil _had_ escalated things with a punch. And Daniel _had_ escalated things at first by intentionally being scary. _ _

_But she found that she couldn't really care less about any of that._

__Already she was running up to Daniel in a frenzied ball of excitement- a million questions and remarks ready to pour out of her mouth like they were water and she was an overflowing sink._ _

__"YouweresofreakingawesomeohmygodIcan'tbelieveyoudidallofTHATjusttogetNeiltostopbeingsuchasoftyohmygoshyouHAVEtoteachmehowtointimidatepeoplelikethatpleasepleaseplease-!"_ _

__Daniel laughed, reaching out and patting her head good-naturedly. "Down, girl, down! I.. barely caught a word of that."_ _

__" _Nikki!_ " Neil reprimanded at once. "Don't fucking CONGRATULATE the guy on a 'job well done'! _He just fucking said the most moronic shit on the face of the planet!!_ " _ _

__"Don't care, Daniel's awesome!!"_ _

__" **I fucking trusted you and what do you do.** " _ _

__"I wasn't expecting my two-cents to have a warm reception," Daniel stated with a casual shrug. "Let it be food for thought. At least- consider what I said?"_ _

__"From the looks of things, hunches are all we can rely on at the moment. Compared to a handful of the ideas you two have had, my proposition isn't really that out of the blue."_ _

Admittedly, Nikki had been too caught up in the moment at the time to really and truly process Daniel's suggestion when he'd said it the first time. Even now, she wasn't 100% up to date on what he and Neil were talking about.

Though, at the same time, a large part of her didn't care to hear the specifics at the moment. She was having an overload and needed it to run its course before she could go back to being Responsible Nikki Who Listens To Words.

__Neil was still seething, though. She didn't need to be all cool and collected to know that much. If he knew punching Daniel would have any real affect on anything, she was certain he'd do it again without any hesitation._ _

__For the time being, though, he was busy punching _himself_. Internally. As in- As in struggling for what to say. Wow, she really could have worded that better- _but Daniel was smiling at her again so whatever Neil was doing wasn't half as important, now, was it?_ _ _

__"I will say," Neil began slowly, "whatever the FUCK it takes. For you to get the _hell_ out of my house. I need. _some_ _**time.**_ " _ _

__"Of course. I suppose we'll be postponing the interrogation scheduled today-?"_ _

__" **OUT.** " _ _

__Daniel didn't need to be told twice. Nikki needed to be told five times, though. The moment he turned to leave, she latched herself onto his waist and _refused_ to let go until he spilled his mystical cultist tactics. _ _

__Sadly, she didn't end up getting her way. Neil wouldn't let her run off and follow him to- _wherever_ he'd said he was going. Did he even say where he was going?? She wasn't listening. Drat. _ _

__She barely realized it when Neil pried her off of Daniel's person, and she vibrated as intensely as possible when she was finally released._ _

__Goodbye, Beyoncé. Goodbye, John Cena. Goodbye, Guy Fieri. She has a new role model now, and his name is Daniel. And he **will** teach her how to make her enemies wet their pants. _ _

__With Daniel gone, Neil practically crumpled onto a swivel chair that he'd pulled up for himself while Nikki was too distracted to notice it. Propping his elbows up onto the table, he let out a loud groan; ultimately face planting onto the hard wood._ _

__He seemingly hadn't noticed their hodgepodge of notes that Daniel had straightened up for them. The moment his forehead met with the table was the moment he accidentally nudged the stack with his arm. The nudge was more than enough to send the papers spiraling back down to the floor again._ _

__Neil didn't make any moves to pick them back up, so Nikki did what anyone would do in that situation: Roll all over the paper-covered ground like she was attempting to make a snow angel. A paper angel._ _

__" _I wish I never fucking let that creep help us out,_ " Neil croaked out dejectedly._ _

__"That makes one of us, Neil. That makes one of us," she replied with a contented sigh, hugging the ruined paper to her chest._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Feeding the Flames is back with yet another chapter on the longer side! From now on, my update schedule will be completely and utterly random, so if you want a rough estimation of when to expect new chapters, be sure to follow my Tumblr! I post announcements and sneak peaks from time to time, so that'll be one of your best sources for following this fic. 
> 
> Act 2 has officially been lengthened so I could better the pacing and get this chapter out faster, so rather than ending on chapter 10, Act 2 ends on chapter 11! 
> 
> Stay wonderful, guys~!


	10. Act 2: Questions

"Why do you look so tired all the time?"

"Maybe because I'm tired."

"Why don't you sleep, then?"

"Maybe later." 

"Why are you wearing a hoodie in summer?"

"Why aren't _you?_ "

"What's your favorite thing to do on Saturdays?" 

"Why specifically Saturdays?" 

" _Just answer the question!_ " 

"Uh- work." 

"That's a lie!" 

"I enjoy working." 

"I don't believe you."

"Then I would suggest that you don't ask questions you don't want the answers to. Or, better yet, don't ask questions at all? There's a thought." 

Nikki paused to contemplate that for a moment before shaking her head. "Naaahh... That's boring. Who likes walking in silence, anyway??" 

"Me." 

"Oh.." 

That seemed to finally quiet the girl for a while. Daniel couldn't help but to feel the slightest bit relieved, and definitely _not_ slightly guilty about it. No guilt here, no sir. 'Redeeming qualities'? Never heard of 'em. Goodbye. 

He'd give just about anything to be able to say that right there and then so he could get Nikki off of his back. It's not often that he finds himself regretting his decision to make an effort and 'be better' (whatever _that_ truly means), but he couldn't lie at this very moment. 

Morals. Suck. 

Despite being certain that he'd ditched the kid when Neil kicked him out, he'd unfortunately realized he was being followed sometime before he reached the park. Nikki tagged along without his say so and for a reason he feels he will never really understand. In retrospect, he should have anticipated something like this. The way she'd clung to him when   
he tried to leave had been a dead give away of her later intentions. 

But, y'know, he's a moron who kicks dogs and partakes in masochism, so. 

That's not to say he _doesn't_ or _never_ had morals, though. That's ridiculous. Everyone has their own list of rules and boundaries when it comes to how they go about their lives. Of course he followed a certain doctrine under the teachings of his old church, and he had common courtesy mastered just for the sake of it. (He'd hope   
_everyone_ did.)

So perhaps 'morals' was the wrong word. 'Being better' feels more accurate. 

Being better sucks. 

He isn't a monster, though, as Neil likes to believe. Merely.. _'misguided'_ , David had worded it. That felt right, given the current context. And even though David had only used that word to placate Max during one of his 'Daniel's from a cult and is gonna kill us' rants. 

No, he felt that 'misguided' fit far better than 'monster' ever could. However, sometimes, he just wished he could crumple up his lingering shreds of humanity, grab a bat, and swing that thing as hard as he could in order to send those suckers flying. Life would be so much easier that way, wouldn't it? 

His eyes darted over to Nikki unthinkingly. She was skipping along by his side like a blissfully obedient little sheep; humming a tune to herself. It seems his prior callousness hadn't affected her all that much.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to crack a bat over her head. Hear her neck snap and- 

Daniel resisted the urge to smack himself and instead snapped his hair tie. Nikki noticed it and looked up at him. 

"What was that for?" 

Keep it together, Daniel. You can do that, right? You can stop being weird and unnecessarily violent for five seconds, right?

"What was what for, sweetie?" 

"That. That thing you just did with your bracelet thingy." 

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're talking about." 

"Your," she paused and pointed to his wrist, " _that!_ Is that- is that a _hair tie?_ " 

He tried to subtly conceal the black band beneath the sleeve of his hoodie. 

"It sure is." 

"Why do you have a hair tie on your wrist, and why'd you snap it?" 

"You never know when you'll need what. I just like to come prepared. As for the snapping, I guess I just picked up a bored tick of some sort. No harm no foul." 

The way Nikki narrowed her eyes at him made him think that his lie was easily seen through. He didn't take Nikki to exactly be the _brains_ of their equation. Not to say that she was dull. The lights just.. clearly weren't always turned on upstairs, he'd put it that way. 

Thankfully, her glare didn't last. It had taken her a moment to accept it, apparently, but a wide smile took her suspicious frown's place, so he was in no position to complain. 

"Oh, okay! That makes sense!" 

Yeah, he would hope so. It was the most obvious thing to say. 

"Since you're bored, would you mind answering a few more of my questions?? I've got a whole list and everything!" 

Aaand suddenly hitting Nikki with a bat was sounding VERY appealing again.

If he was being honest with himself, Nikki _was_ one of his favorites of the Campbell Campers. She was energetic and sweet- qualities he can greatly appreciate. Those hungry for knowledge and those with an affinity for everything intergalactic could easily weasel their way into his heart. It was a weakness he'd admit. 

That didn't mean he'd bend over backwards for them, though. Quite the opposite, really. Keeping up appearances is imperative, naturally. That's really all his affection for Nikki had been. 

At least, that had been his plan _originally._

Unfortunately, Nikki couldn't quite grasp that. Not to mention that he's fairly certain that if he said a great majority of his smiles and friendly behavior towards both her, and Neil, were just carefully placed and calculated lines in a play to him for all he cared, that she'd never speak to him again. 

And so, knowing this, did Daniel clear his throat and proceed to do what he does best. 

"Why, I'd be _delighted_ to, Nikki! Fire away, kiddo!" 

Lie his gosh-darned heart out. 

Nikki gave a little triumphant fist pump in reply; soon reaching into her mass of curls and pulling out what looked like a notebook. She quickly flipped through its pages with a jubilant smile on her face. Daniel bit back his natural question of ' _Hey, what the heck?_ ' towards her antics. 

"Okay okay okay- what um... What are your hobbies?" she asked, turning her bright gaze back up to him. 

Lying is already feeling like the wrong decision, here. 

Oh well.

"I..." Does he actually _have_ any hobbies..? What counts as a 'hobby'? 

"I play violin, of course, you know that. And I.. enjoy a good book from time to time. But, then again, who _doesn't?_ " 

Nikki nodded along and pulled a pencil from who-knows-where, jotting down his response. "I see, I see.." 

_How many things does she store in her hair? Should he be concerned about this??_ Because if she reveals that she has a literal infant in there somewhere, he is going to become concerned about this. 

"Anything else you like to do?" 

"Well, _sure_ ," just answer her questions, Daniel, "but what does it matter?" Oh, you absolute moron. 

"I mean, it's not like you _need_ this information for any reason, right? Just- general curiosity?" 

"I mean, yeah. What _else_ would this be for?" Nikki asked with a snort and a roll of her eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna _copy_ your likes and dislikes and make them facets of my personality or anything. That's just silly! I'm not THAT insecure." 

Aaaaand THIS is why you don't ask questions, Daniel! You get yourself into situations like these, and suddenly you're expected to be someone's messiah. But hey, what else is new, you idiot?

Daniel took a deep breath and forced a wide smile. 

" _Wow_ , okay! There is. A LOT to unpack, there!" 

"No there isn't," Nikki insisted, tapping the end of the pencil on her notebook. "We're getting off track, here." 

Yes, yes we are. "You're really bad at lying." 

"I'm not lying about anything! Next question!" 

Don't get involved, don't get involved, don't get-

"Nikki-" 

_Shut up~!_

"Y'know, I didn't write this down on my list, but I always wondered what the basis of your whole religion thing was all about." 

HA HA! Funny joke!

The kid's stubborn, he'll give her that. He bit back a sigh and **tried** to resign himself to just letting things be. A chance to just mind his own business and not get tangled up in personal affairs was staring him right in the face, and here he was, blatantly trying to ignore it.

Why? Well, because he's a self-destructive mess of a human being, of course! 

Maybe if he just- plays along and takes everything she says and does at face value, he'll be able to get away from this interaction unscathed. He's never really been known for successfully managing that, but a guy has to hope. 

Looking over his shoulder, Daniel stepped closer to Nikki and put a hand on her back. The evening calm was settling in, so there weren't that many people around to overhear them just yet. Even so, he still liked to play it safe. The couples walking their dogs and the occasional teen strolling about had his hackles raised a bit more than was likely necessary. 

He paid special attention to the dogs for no particular reason. 

Ushering Nikki over to a nearby tree, he stopped himself from letting out a sigh just to relieve tension. Being visibly annoyed wouldn't help his predicament, now, would it? 

"Why'd we walk over here?" she asked, eyes wide and wary. 

" _Because_ , Nikki, if we're going to be discussing things of that nature, we certainly don't want people listening in on us. _Do we?_ " 

Nikki ducked her head and flashed him an apologetic smile, glancing off to the side. 

"Oh, no. I guess not." She hesitated. "Sorry." 

"No, it's fine. You don't have to-" 

Daniel bit back whatever he'd been about to say. Honestly, he hadn't really thought his words through before he said them. Why he'd thought that had been even remotely okay was beyond him at this point. 

Dealing with Nikki had been so much easier when he hadn't been the only person around she could pester. 

"I-I'm still sorry. You're probably super busy or something and I'm just- being a bother." 

He leaned up against (almost slumped against) the tree and rolled his sleeve up to check his watch. Typically, Nikki's assumption would have been absolutely correct. However, things hadn't exactly gone according to his schedule.   
The whole thing with Neil yelling at him and canceling the 'interrogation' wasn't really an issue. In fact, it had been a part of his plan, believe it or not.

What he _hadn't_ counted on was David not listening to his common sense and going to work in spite of his obviously poor mental health. 

Was he _surprised?_ No. Was he _upset_ about it? ... Also no. It was just **very**...

_Inconvenient._ He'd put it that way.

"Uh... Daniel?" 

He looked back up. 

"Um, are you okay?"

"What makes me seem _not_ okay?"

"Well, you went really quiet for a bit, and.. now you're kind of glaring at me." 

He is? "I am?" 

"Uh. Yeah." 

He took that as his cue to straighten himself back up and clasp his hands together. Putting on a bright smile, he tilted his head to the side and made an effort to seem mentally and physically respondent. He must be more exhausted than he thought. 

"Well, THAT was completely unintentional, I can assure you! I'd never be upset with _you_ , kiddo!" 

Nikki still seemed unnerved by his behavior. She glanced off to the side then back at him again as if someone was going to walk up to them and tell her why he was acting like an alien attempting to be human. He felt a little bit insulted by that notion. 

"Riiight," Nikki drawled, slowly but surely returning her attention to her notebook. "Daniel, if you're not feeling well, I can leave you alone. It's really no problem." 

Oh, if only things were that simple. 

"I mean, I _did_ also kinda wanna talk to you about how you were acting back there and everything, too, but- but like I said!! It's no biggie if you just wanna go home." 

Oh, she wants to _lecture_ him, now? Marvelous. Shall he add 'become everyone's pet that needs to be tamed' to his schedule? Should he buy her a freaking _leash_ so she can keep tabs on him at all times? Perhaps one of those shock collars, too, because why not? 

"Neil's probably gonna yell at me for running off to find you even though he told me not to, haha.. S-So I should probably get back, anyway, so he can do that." 

Daniel hated the stab of guilt in his chest. He hated how nonsensical it was. He hated how uncalled for EVERYTHING he's done has been. He hated himself for trying to be better. 

He'd been absently plucking the hair tie and clawing the skin around it while Nikki droned on and on. He'd been hoping that it'd bring him some peace of mind so he could at _least_ articulate something coherent to add to the 'conversation'. 

Unsurprisingly, what he wanted to happen and what actually happened were two different things. Even though he's not around anyone whose opinion he genuinely cares about, they aren't alone at the park. And Nikki is directly tied into David and Neil. And Neil can and **will** snitch on any 'dubious behavior'. 

And this information is worsening his anxiety second by second. He almost reached up and placed a hand over his mouth just to stop himself from saying something stupid. 

Almost. 

But he really should have.

"S-So, really, if you want me to leave, just say the word and-" 

" _LUNCH!_ " Daniel blurted out despite himself. He is smiling _way_ too much to be healthy right now.

He'd tried. He'd really tried to suppress the anxious energy welling up inside of his person, but he'll be DARNED if he just lets Nikki wander off and feel dejected just because he was too socially awkward to make basic conversation.

Nikki jumped at his loud proclamation; her eyebrows shooting up and her grip on her pencil nearly waning altogether. How she hasn't just run off yet and lost all respect for him as a person is absolutely beyond him. 

"Er.. _what??_ " 

"Why! Don't you! _Come over for lunch??_ " He felt like the way he was grinning and the forced crane of his neck was doing very little to comfort the girl. 

In all honesty, though, comfort was the LAST thing on his mind right now. 

_'Come over for lunch'?? Daniel, are you out of your gosh hecking MIND???_

Actually, no, don't answer that. We've established this. 

"Uh.. A-Are.. Are you _sure??_ I-It really won't be any bother..?" 

"NONE whatsoever!" he lied. "It'll be.. _easier_ to answer your questions in the.. _privacy_ of the apartment!" 

_Why did you stress those words exactly, you psychopath. She's going to think you're trying to poison her all over again, because that's a natural assumption._

Thankfully (or maybe concerningly, actually) Nikki didn't seem to pick up any potential for his words being a double edged blade. Any and all inhibitions were forgotten faster than he could say 'oh lord please help me'. Good thing, too, seeing as he's clearly treading in godless waters. 

"O-Oh, okay!!" Nikki's eyes glittered like diamonds. He loathed how adorable it was. "That sounds great! You're the _best_ , Daniel!" 

Daniel tried to relax his stance a bit, letting one of his arms drop and propping the other onto his hip. Movement behind Nikki caught his attention, so soon he was staring blistering holes into a couple of passersby. He sent a friendly smile their way. They picked up their pace. 

"Yeah." He'd meant to say it more to Nikki, but the familiar constriction in his chest dwindled his voice down to a mere mutter. "I _am_ pretty great, aren't I?" 

He looked back down to the girl and clapped his hands together to further things along. 

" _Welp!_ Looks like it's settled, then! Why don't we start to mosey on over? You could continue to go down your list while we're at it." 

" _Or_ ," Nikki began with a wolfish grin and a hard glint in her eyes, "I could race you! Last one to the complex has to do the splits!!" 

" _Love_ the enthusiasm, kiddo! But, if it's all the same to you, why don't you get a good run in and I'll- tag behind..?" he tried to barter. "I'll admit, I actually am feeling a little under the weather." 

Nikki put a hand out as if to stop him from saying anything else on the matter. 

"Say no more, Daniel! I pick up what you're puttin' down!" 

"Well- great!" 

"Yep! You're _testing_ me! Like you did with Neil!" 

"Am I, now?" 

"Uh- _obviously??_ You wanna test out my stamina and see how reliable I am when it comes to getting out of a potentially sticky situation! You sly dog..." 

Daniel, unsure of just how Nikki reached the conclusion she did, shrugged his shoulders and tried to look guilty. 

" _Whoops!_ You got me! I'm usually more discreet than that. You learn fast! I'm impressed." 

He chose to ignore the way Nikki's cheeks flushed and the way her shoe scuffed the ground from his praise. It wasn't his problem if he hadn't noticed it. So he hadn't. 

"I'll make you proud, Daniel!" she exclaimed with a giddy bounce. He humored her with a small pat on the head. 

Closing her notebook and stuffing both it and the pencil in her hair, Nikki rubbed her hands together in anticipation for her self-appointed 'test'. Watching the teen crack her knuckles and do a few squats as warm ups, Daniel momentarily felt.. almost okay with his current situation. 

And no, he didn't mean the _current_ situation. Not necessarily. He meant, just, all of it. 

He felt like he could genuinely be okay with having left home. He felt like he could be okay with trying to be better, and surrounded by the people from his past that he'd tried to kill. He could be okay with just- being a shoulder to lean on for David, and being a makeshift punching bag for Max. 

Maybe... Maybe he really could adapt to this kind of life. Maybe he really could be.. _'normal'._

If he stopped being so hard on himself all the time, Daniel really could see himself living a happy life here. Everyone still needed some time to get used to his presence, and he could respect that. He needed some time, too. 

He needed time to figure out just what his intentions were. He needed time to figure out a plan for his life rather than just- going from person to person and place to place. His motivations for the time being were just hastily scrambled together and based around feelings that really... weren't...

_**his.**_

These weren't his feelings, at the end of the day. Were they? 

Daniel looked down at his hands while Nikki preoccupied herself with jumping jacks. He couldn't help but to stare at the hair tie as his sleeve slid down his arm some. 

He didn't know how to describe what he was actually feeling. These past few weeks, he'd been vulnerable, hadn't he? The change in routine had messed him all up. When David was no longer his cheery happy self, Daniel hadn't _felt_ anything for the man other than pity. Right?

The other emotions came afterwards. _Right?_ And they had all been **David's.**

The- The _fear_ , the _frustration._ Why would he have been afraid?? Why would he have been frustrated? Had he even stopped to question WHERE these feelings were coming from? Had he even stopped to question if what he was feeling this entire time was **real?**

_Why would it be real?_

"Okay! I'm ready, Daniel!" 

His place in all of this is temporary. He isn't _seriously_ planning on sticking around and meddling in everyone's lives like this, is he? Just because he doesn't know WHEN he'll leave doesn't mean he NEVER will. 

_Right..?_

Maybe he's looking too deeply into this. He's too tired to self-analyze on this level. When was the last time he slept, again? 

"Daniel?" 

Why does he feel so _sad_ all of a sudden? Like he'd witnessed some great tragedy? 

His chest kind of hurts. That won't do. 

He pulled the sleeve of his hoodie back down and gave Nikki a small smile. He didn't want to look at the thing anymore.

"Well? I'm waiting. You _are_ being timed, after all, sweetie."

Panic crossed Nikki's face for a moment before she was off. Even though she'd been standing on grass the whole time, he half expected her to kick up dust from how quickly she raced away.   
He stood and watched for a moment, tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He stood and watched the little lamb make her desperate escape; none the wiser of just _what_ she was escaping from. 

Daniel may not know his true motivations just yet, and he may not have all of his feelings sorted out. He didn't have to to know that this was a terrible idea, though.

As he took his first step forward, he became acutely aware of the fact that he has a knife in his back pocket. He also remembered the fact that David had gone to work earlier in the morning. Which meant the apartment was empty. Not the complex itself, no, no. 

But he didn't think having anyone interfere would be much of an issue. Pillows can muffle a lot, he's figured out over the years. Quite helpful. 

Oh, this was such a terrible idea. 

He isn't plotting anything. He wouldn't. He knew it wouldn't achieve anything, anyway. Still, the thoughts plagued his mind, no matter how many times he pushed them away. 

He _wouldn't_. 

But he _**could.**_

Neil was right to be wary of him, he dully registered. Neil was right, and as usual, Daniel's manipulated the only other person around to listen to the voice of reason. Rather unintentionally, he might add. 

He grinned to himself. A pathetic action. He isn't a good person. There is no 'being better'. What had he been thinking? 

" _See 'ya at the apartment, Daniel!_ " Nikki shouted, almost being too far away at this point to be heard properly. " _I can't wait!!_ " 

Turning around was an option. Leaving the area right now was perfectly viable. He could go to a café, or take a walk around the neighborhood. Or do just about anything that isn't follow Nikki to a remote location. 

He'd dug his own grave, though. It's pretty clear that people aren't too keen on giving up their preconceived notions of others, so really, why fight it? Besides, if he's not able to resist doing something... _'unfriendly'_ , then.. 

Then at least he'll know just what kind of a person he is. He'd put himself to the test. It only seemed fair, after all. 

"I can't wait, either, sweetie." 

He really has sealed his own fate, here, hasn't he?

" _I can't wait, either._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Act 2 has officially been lengthened beyond chapter 11 just so I could better the pacing and avoid editing like, 8,000 to 9,000 word chapters imao. So, sorry about making the act longer, but I guess I'm also not sorry since that's the reason why chapter 10 got posted so early? 
> 
> Longer chapters are in the near future, though, so no worries! Be sure to follow my Tumblr for fic updates!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> My Tumblr is here: https://painful-prose.tumblr.com/
> 
> My Discord is here: #9068


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